Nepal Project Introduction
Nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, the Kingdom of Nepal had been isolated from the outside world until fifty years ago when it opened its doors to a few select tourists. Today, tourism is a major source of foreign exchange and the Himalaya mountain range is the Mecca for trekkers and mountaineers.
Our initial contact in Nepal was with Patan Hospital in 1994. Patan Hospital is the fourth-largest hospital in Kathmandu and is jointly administered by the Nepal government and the United Mission to Nepal (UMN). With only ten histopathologists in the country at that time, Patan Hospital was one of three hospitals providing surgical pathology services. Dr. Yuji Kimula, a missionary from Japan, was the solo pathologist on its staff. In addition to serving the patients of Patan Hospital, he was also providing services for three other missionary hospitals that send their tissue specimens to Patan for processing.
Pathologists Overseas Involvement - When Dr. Kimula had to take a one-year leave of absence from Patan Hospital in 1995-96, Pathologists Overseas provided a succession of volunteer pathologists to cover his service at Patan Hospital. For the next five years, we continued to provide periodic coverage for vacation relief.
Current Status - Prof. H. G. Shrestha had the foresight to establish a Pathology post-graduate training program at the Tribuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) in 1996. Since that time, they have graduated three to four pathologists each year. At this time, we believe that they have adequate manpower to provide for the pathology needs of the country. Patan Hospital is currently employing one of the graduates of this program, Dr. Bandana Sigdel, as their on-site pathologist.
Project Finances - This project is entirely supported by its participants. All volunteers paid for their expenses, including air transportation and local living expenses. Pathologists Overseas rented and furnished an apartment adjacent to the hospital to house our volunteers. The expenses incurred were completely recovered through donations from each of our project participant.
