New Clinic In A Can Website and Facebook Page

We have a new Clinic In A Can website! Visit www.clinicinacan.org to check out all the information, latest pictures and videos of Clinic In A Can. We also have a new Facebook page at www.facebook.com/clinicinacan where you can “like” us.

We are very excited for this new phase in our ministry. Over the years, many people and organizations have asked for assistance to build a hospital for their community in developing countries. While we would like to help everyone, we simply cannot reproduce ourselves on that level. The cost, time, and government limitations make it impractical and unobtainable. However, we recognize that medical needs exist and something must be done to bring hope to the communities with no health facilities for hours or even days away. We had built several Clinic In A Cans before, but beginning this year, we decide to shift the focus of our ministry to converting shipping containers into clinics. We cleared out our warehouse to make more space for construction. We also have dedicated much time to making new contacts of people interested in Clinic In A Can, new marketing material like the new website, and laying the foundation so we can have a strong Clinic In A Can ministry.

We are taking these steps in faith that this is the new avenue for us to bring quality health care to the underserved. We are excited for the future as we partner with more organizations to utilize a more effective and efficient way to bring medical facilities to remote communities. More than this, however, we seek to continue to share with those we serve the hope we have in Jesus Christ.

A Reminder of the Need for Container Clinics

Sometimes it is easy for us to take for granted our access to even basic medical care in the United States. Read this account of an experience from our staff. It’s stories like these that remind us at Hospitals of Hope of why we are here and why we hope to bring change.

At the JFK Memorial Medical Center in Monrovia, Liberia, a man limped into the emergency room. He lived in a remote part of Liberia and had gotten bit by a poisonous snake while working in a field. Since no proper medical clinic was nearby, he first visited the witch doctor who basically just applied manure to his leg. After his leg only got worse and not better, he walked two days to the hospital for treatment. By the time he arrived, his leg was so swollen that he could barely walk. He desperately needed the proper anti-venom to counter-act the poison that had already worked its way through his body. He was immediately treated for the snake bite but he needed to have the leg that had turned gangrene amputated. Because in his culture he would be viewed as worthless if he did not have his leg he would rather die than have his leg amputated. His condition worsened and he died hours later.

It is tragic experiences like this that inspired Hospitals of Hope to find an innovative and practical way to provide the basic medical care that is needed around the world.

One of the most exciting ways we work to prevent unnecessary deaths and give quality medical care is with our Clinic in a Can program. Clinic in a Cans are self-contained medical clinics built in 40-foot shipping containers that can be sent nearly anywhere in the world, creating an instant, fully-equipped medical clinic.

We are thrilled we have been able to send a total of ten container clinics, but we know there is always a need. We hope to continue partnering with other organizations to bring these innovative container clinics to even more communities around the world to help bring change.

Container Clinic Featured in Local Media

Hospitals of Hope’s Clinic In A Can has recently been featured in local Wichita media including the tv news station KAKE and also the radio station KFDI. You can see our stories by clicking on the following:

KAKE TV Broadcast

KAKE TV Article

KFDI Article

Hospitals of Hope is sending a three-unit Clinic In A Can to Southern Sudan later this year. The Clinic In A Can is converted from 40-foot shipping containers. This container hospital is Hospitals of Hope’s tenth Clinic In A Can. The first Clinic in a Can was sent in 2005 to Jefferson parish in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. Another six Clinic in a Cans have been sent to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.

While the news that Southern Sudan is set to become the world’s newest country in early July brings hope for many refugees, the infrastructure there is still unstable including access to adequate health care.

“The Clinic in a Can is a practical solution to not only the immediate healthcare needs but also the long-term healthcare needs,” said Michael Wawrzewski, founder and CEO of Hospitals of Hope.

Hospitals of Hope is working with Covenant Presbyterian Church and the Healing Kadi Foundation in Omaha, Neb. to send a Clinic in a Can hospital to Kajo Keji, Southern Sudan. This portable hospital is constructed in three forty-foot shipping containers and will be set up in a “U” shape. This small hospital will contain exam rooms, a laboratory, a pharmacy, and surgical and radiology suites. It will contain a generator and water system, enabling it to be self-sufficient regardless of the surrounding infrastructure.

The Healing Kadi Foundation eventually plans to construct a larger hospital, but that will take several more years. In the meantime, the Clinic in a Can will provide much-needed medical care to the more than 450,000 refugees living in Kajo Keji.

The public and media are invited to tour the three-unit Clinic in a Can before it ships next week at Hospitals of Hope’s office at 3545 N. Santa Fe in Wichita, Kan. For questions or more information contact the Hospitals of Hope office at 316-262-0964.