Church Offers Medical Training in Cambodia

This August, medical specialists with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provided much needed training and lifesaving medical equipment to a provincial hospital in the Prey Veng province of Cambodia. 

Due to the rural location and challenging road conditions, this hospital, which is approximately two hours away from the capital city, Phnom Penh, becomes the first resort to many people in the province for much needed emergency care, basic surgery and newborn delivery services.

 

The onsite training provided by the Church's medical team to the local physicians and nurses included information on the use of vital signs monitors and life-saving heart defibrillators.

"This equipment is the first of its kind to be used by the medical staff in the Prey Veng hospital,” said Dr. Robert Armstrong who leads the Church's medical team with his wife, Beverly. Also serving on the medical team is Dr. Steven Lewis and his wife, Vickie. The training program is part of their ongoing medical work in Cambodia.

In addition to the two vital signs monitors and two defibrillators donated by the Church, the hospital also received an EKG machine. This equipment will be used to evaluate the electrical functioning of a patient’s heart. If that is found to be abnormal, the patient can be transported to a referral hospital for further care.

Dr. Armstrong reported that additional training on the use of these vital equipment and further training on the care of patients experiencing cardiac arrests are being planned for next month, as the Church continues to partner with the Cambodian government in efforts to improve the health care of the people of Cambodia.