Zainoel Abidin -- a hospital run by coalition of concerned
\ndoctors<\/p>\n
Andi Hajramurni
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Banda Aceh<\/p>\n
In the pediatrics unit, Belgian and Spanish are spoken besides
\nBahasa Indonesia. Over in the surgery unit it's English with an
\nAustralian accent and German. In the high care unit, it's
\nSinglish with a hint of Malay.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere in Zainoel Abidin General Hospital, they speak
\nFrench, Chinese, and even Vietnamese. And there are also an
\nassortment of local languages like Batak, Riau-Melayu, Makassar
\nand Betawi used by Jakartans.<\/p>\n
Welcome to what is probably the most international hospital in
\nthe world today. Around 500 doctors and medical staff, some in
\nthe uniform of their respective countries, have been working side
\nby side to treat victims of the magnitude-9 earthquake and
\ntsunami that hit Aceh on Dec. 26.<\/p>\n
In spite of the multicultural environment and language
\ndifferences, everyone in this hospital seems to know their place
\nand what is expected of them. Coordination, or lack of it, which
\nseems to be the chief complaint in the ongoing massive
\ninternational relief operations to help victims of the disaster,
\nseems to be the least of the problems in this hospital.<\/p>\n
The activity of the hospital, however, does not conceal the
\nfact that it is located in the center of the town and was badly
\ndamaged by the quake and tsunami. The hospital lost many of its
\npatients and more than half of its staff.<\/p>\n
Many of its patients were moved to \"safety\" in the open field
\noutside the hospital when the quake rocked the building that
\nfateful Sunday morning. When the walls of black water from the
\nsea swept through the city, they had no chance at all.<\/p>\n
Reminders of that disaster are still visible even as the
\nhospital is now working around the clock treating patients that
\nseem to keep coming every day.<\/p>\n
While parts of the building have been cleaned and restored,
\nallowing the hospital to resume operation as of Jan. 8, other
\nsections remained closed because they are beyond repair.<\/p>\n
The pile of mud cleared from inside the buildings has also not
\nbeen fully removed; a reminder to visitors of how difficult it
\nmust have been for soldiers and volunteers to clean the place up
\nand allow the hospital to function.<\/p>\n
And the tents housing the foreign medical staff outside the
\nhospital building tell us that this international hospital cannot
\nbe anything but temporary.<\/p>\n
It all seems just too good to last. It begs the question how
\nlong will this go on?<\/p>\n
Rus Munandar, head of the medical services, fears that the
\nhospital will be closed once the international and national teams
\nleave town.<\/p>\n
\"This hospital is running because of outside help. Once they
\nare gone, there is not much we can do really. All our equipment
\nwas destroyed, sunk in thick mud and saltwater,\" he told The
\nJakarta Post in his office on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Around 220 hospital workers, including many doctors, have not
\nreported back for duty. Their fate, like the tens of thousands
\nmissing across Aceh, is unknown.<\/p>\n
Work to clean the place up only began in the second week after
\nthe disaster. All roads to the hospital were then impassable,
\nfilled with debris, mud and bodies.<\/p>\n
Indonesian and foreign soldiers, worked side by side to clean
\nup parts of the hospital that could be salvaged. When it
\nreopened, it had an emergency ward, an intensive care unit, a
\nhigh care unit, and last but not least, a ward for children.<\/p>\n
Initially, some of the work had to be done in the field
\nhospital set up by Australia and Germany. Surgery, for example,
\nhad to be performed in tents.<\/p>\n
The hospital formerly could accommodate 400 patients. Now it
\nonly has 110 beds. \"We are trying to add more rooms and beds. The
\nnumber of patients is just growing every day,\" Munandar said.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, the hospital was treating 60 in-patients with
\ncomplaints ranging from tetanus, upper lung infection, and
\ndiarrhea. It has also received an average of 200 outpatients
\nevery day since it reopened.<\/p>\n
The foreign teams came not only with medical staff, but also
\nwith their own equipment and medicine. Helping to coordinate
\ntheir work are administrators from the Wahidin Sudirohusodo
\nHospital in Makassar.<\/p>\n
\"There has not been any problem with coordination so far,\"
\nMunandar says.<\/p>\n
\"The foreign doctors are all working along side our doctors.
\nWe decide their function according to their respective skills.
\nThe Belgians and Spanish are assigned to the pediatrician unit
\nbecause they have the doctors. The Australians and Germans are
\ndoing the surgery because they have the equipment.\"<\/p>\n
The plan is for these doctors to stay here until the end of
\nMarch.<\/p>\n
Munandar is uncertain whether the foreign teams will donate
\nthe equipment and leave it behind. \"If they don't then this
\nhospital may as well close down.\"<\/p>\n
But the equipment is only half of the problem. The other half
\nis in recruiting new staff to run the hospital, a process that
\nwill also take a long time, and lots of funds. And there is also
\nthe need to rebuild and restore the hospital building.<\/p>\n
Munandar estimates that the total costs would reach Rp 100
\nbillion ($11 million). \"It's the kind of money that can only come
\nfrom the central government,\" he said.<\/p>",
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