Chad In Economic Crisis
The mood in Chad is not good as fewer and fewer patients can afford medical/surgery care because of the very real economic crisis.
Many of our patients are military and they have been receiving only a fraction of their normal salaries.
We are finally feeling the financial pinch strongly at the hospital here, but we do not feel that we can withhold care of emergency cases-especially for infants and children.
God Met Payroll
We expected to announce to our hospital employees that we would be unable for the first time ever to meet payroll.
As explained to you previously, this is because of the major economic crisis here caused by the low oil prices and other management issues of the government. Many patients just simply do not have money.
Our leadership team met and we saw that our hospital earnings would have to be record setting for the next three days in order to avoid announcing to our employees that we would have to delay paying them. Then we turned it all over to the Lord and went to work.
We had several emergencies and Dr. James’s skills in orthopedics came into play. We still have only one OR until we move into our new surgical center, hopefully, in February. I had several cases, as did James, so we ended up not getting all the cases done and had to overflow to the next day.
Being able to run two operating rooms at the same time will help improve timely patient care and will help the hospital’s bottom line.
Anyway, we earned enough to meet payroll and did not have to make the dreaded announcement. PTL!
James has been a real blessing. We were just about out of suture but he brought enough free suture to last a couple of months. He also brought needed surgical instruments.
We will move ahead with the affiliation with the Family Practice program in Ventura, CA. It is considered one of the best training programs in the USA.
They will send fellows who have completed their residency as well as last year residents. There will be at least one fellow or resident here year around. James will supervise this program.
Please Pray with Us
Please join us in prayer for the people of Chad as well as for this ministry to unreached people groups.
Is this economic picture going to change? Only God knows, but the reason we are here is to tell people who come here, no matter who they are, the truth about Jesus and how they can find eternal life.
Also to relieve suffering and to cure patients when we are able to do so in His name.
We cannot allow ourselves to deteriorate into becoming stressed-out servants consumed by financial worries. Then burn-out comes.
Pray for God to provide.
Blessings,
Bert
From Jean Wilund, the Oubre’s blogger: Thanks for your prayers for the Oubre’s and the hospital. I hope you’ll consider donating to G2 as an early Christmas gift.