Andrew J. Patterson

Since 2006, I have worked in the village of Gitwe Rwanda. The projects I have participated in include clinical, education, research, and technology initiatives. My focus has been infrastructure development and empowerment of local health care providers. I helped the local community build operating rooms and develop the ability to perform surgical and obstetrical procedures using general and regional anesthesia. I worked with the Gitwe Hospital, Medical Missions for Children, Stanford University, and later the University of Nebraska Medical Center to create surgical teams that operate in Gitwe on a regular basis. I helped establish education rotations for students from Stanford University and the University of Nebraska to learn about health care in resource limited environments. With support from African and European health care providers, the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, I conducted a 1500 patient study on acute infections and sepsis in Gitwe and the surrounding communities.