F.A.M.E. – A Growing Medical Facility in Tanzania

In 2005, Jack and Scott Paddon began work on the master plan and design of a 22-acre medical campus in Karatu, Tanzania. F.A.M.E., which stands for the Foundation for African Medicine and Education, is a non-governmental, non-profit organization offering medical care and wellness education to the Karatu District in rural Tanzania. At the start of the project, our team traveled to Africa to assist the founders with securing land and preparing a master plan for a new medical services campus, serving the 185,000 people in the Karatu District of Tanzania. The organization was founded in 2002 by Dr. Frank Artress, an American physician, and his wife, Susan Gustafson, who is trained in counseling and educational psychology.

The F.A.M.E. campus has a diagnostic center, a lab, a 32-bed hospital with two operating rooms and a birthing center. The off-grid, self-contained campus, located three degrees south of the equator, employs natural daylight, photovoltaics with battery backup and an extensive rain harvesting system. The medical center’s facilities and services have continued to grow since 2006, when the first twelve acres of land were acquired. Jack Paddon, principal at W + P, still serves on the Board and shared several interesting facts with us after his annual meeting in February.

In 2017:

• 658 babies were delivered, including 10 sets of twins
• 801 participants enrolled in the prenatal program, an 85% increase over 2016
• 300 primary school students were screened for rheumatic heart disease, a disease that affects 30 per 1,000 school age children
• 350+ children received education on dental hygiene
• 1,388 patients received X-rays, most commonly for cough or difficulty breathing, severe or chronic pain, or trauma
• 45 nurses are now trained to help babies breathe
• 21 nurses are trained in the next level of neonatal resuscitation and care
• 35 healthcare providers are trained in Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics
• 4 healthcare providers are trained in cervical cancer screening and early treatment
• 15 nurses completed a two-day training on caring for terminally ill patients
• 168 life-saving blood transfusions were provided
• 376 major surgeries were performed
• 1,710 minor procedures were performed
• 61 volunteers, including 42 doctors and nurses came to work for F.A.M.E.
•A maternity center is underway and due to be completed in March of 2019

We are fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with many special and inspiring clients over the last decades; however, the F.A.M.E. project is particularly rewarding because of its focus on the health and wellness of this underserved, indigenous population. Stay tuned for future updates!