International Surgical Rotation

St. Luke’s University Hospital in Bethlehem, PA, has developed the SLISS program to help meet the health care needs of populations in developing nations through sustained improvements in care as well as training the next generation of medical professionals to meet the needs of the international community. This program was designed specifically to partner with hospitals in host nations and provide supplies, equipment, training and visiting medical professionals.

To accomplish this, we partnered with Mbingo Baptist Hospital (MBH) in Cameroon, Africa, and will assist them in serving their patients. Much needed supplies are shipped and hand carried to MBH. In addition, the SLISS program developed an elective where fourth year general surgery residents, accompanied by an attending from the Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, will have the opportunity to spend one month at MBH. They will be working with MBH residents who are trained through a program administered by the Pan African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS). Residents from St. Luke’s will be working side by side with their African counterparts in an ongoing exchange of training and experiences which will be mutually beneficial.

October 2014 was the first rotation at MBH and an excellent start for the SLISS program. Due to this overwhelmingly positive experience, and the strong desire of MBH to have the program continue, St. Luke’s has sustained support through multiple trips in 2015 and 2016. The total cost of each trip is $3000.00 per person and funded solely through donations.

Richard P. Sharpe, MD FACS
Director,
St. Luke’s International Surgical Studies