Rwanda, Cousins, and Computers

Isaac Serene Hank omenmrs.xcf Download this file

October 8th I have an amazing opportunity to visit Kigali, Rwanda.  We are implementing an electronic medical record system for the clinic in Jimaní to support and enhance our medical outreach and help us effectively target needs as well as collect health information for our community and specifically maintaining health information on all the kids in our school programs.  This program will support our collaboration with International Children's Heart Foundation as we work with an informal network of clinics throughout Haiti and the Dominican Republic to identify and treat pediatric cardiology cases.  I am very excited about this program. After a lot of research I identified OpenMRS as the medical records program that will meet our needs.  OpenMRS is an open-source project supported by a community of implementers and developers from all over the world working in some of the leading areas of prevention and treatment.  The potential this program has to support our mission and vision for the health care aspect of our ministry is huge.

I have been working bit by bit at implementing the program, and a few weeks ago received an e-mail that this years Implementers Conference is being held in Kigali, Rwanda.  The government of Rwanda started using OpenMRS as a national health records system to be implemented in all public hospitals and clinics.  So, in addition to seeing how OpenMRS is implemented in other settings, I will be able to attend training classes and learn from key programmers and developers in the OpenMRS community.

Rwanda has a personal interest as well.  For close to two  years, my cousin Isaac and his wife Serena and their son Henry have been serving as the administrators of an orphanage just 30 minutes outside of Kigali.  So, I am going to be able to spend a few days with them on either end of the conference and see the orphanage they have been a part of just as they come to the end of their two-year commitment to this ministry.

Please pray for:

Safe Travel

Melissa, Mom, and Dad as they hold down the fort

That my brain can take-in and retain everything I need to learn

This is longest I've been away, so please pray for separation anxiety on both sides of the world

Also, health and safety for my family while I'm gone, well always, but we have a history of health issues while I'm away (Maicol had his appendix out when I was on a two-day camping trip, and we thought Kate was having galbladder issues when I was on a three-day trip to Santiago)

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