Nana Asare - Ford School of Public Policy
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| Yours truly explaining the first exercises |
August 12th marked the conclusion of my summer
internship at The Ihangane Project (TIP). During my 12-weeks in Ruli, I was able to observe and participate in the continuous development of the Ruli
District Hospital (RDH) through multiple perspectives. Completing the retreat
and setting up the next steps for the Health Systems Management (HSM) program
at TIP was my biggest accomplishment. The next steps will feed into the work of
the Ross Team to visit Rwanda next year and further continue the development
of both TIP and RDH from an emerging markets standpoint. Nevertheless, the
relationships I was able to develop with the hospital and TIP staff are also
part of my personal accomplishments as I’ve always known that I belonged in the
company of those dedicated to making a change in the world.
Quality healthcare
provision is undoubtedly a costly endeavor and innovators are
constantly working to find ways to deliver care effectively at lower cost while
improving access and quality. My work with TIP and RDH was no different. I was
really excited and proud of how the retreat outcomes mirrored and addressed the innovation
needed in healthcare emerging markets. While brainstorming goals for the 5-year
plan, costs and monetary issues were reoccurring themes but the retreat
participants didn’t lose focus that the end goal was improving their service
delivery. Even better, the participants made sure to bring forth the seemingly
non-monetary issues that when unaddressed, eventually ended up affecting the
annual budget. For instance, the participants wanted to strengthen the internal
verification system which has enabled the hospital to recoup significant
revenue which would have been lost due to petty mistakes and lack of
professional consciousness.
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| The RDH head of Lab and Tech offering her suggestions |
One factor
that stood out to me during this summer was how the innovations within the HSM
at the RDH was uniquely based on necessity. In my experience traveling and working
in developing countries, it is common to see organizations flock to Western
models as the way forward. However, at RDH, I realized that the innovations
they wanted and suggested were informed by their “lived realities” and thus
they wanted to forge solutions inspired by the highest standards, which are
both within Rwanda and the developing world. I believe their ability to take
these measures is largely influenced by the effective but less strict oversight
from the Rwandan Ministry of Health. Thus, with fewer constraints, they can
develop innovations specific to their catchment areas as a district hospital. Some
of these innovations we discussed during the retreat included, standardized
operations, workforce skills development and establishing revenue streams.
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| Post-retreat smiles |
After the retreat was completed, I
spent the following 3 weeks putting together my deliverables and ushering in
the new B.A Liaison. I feel very accomplished and I am ready for the last year
of my MPP program and post-grad career which will be influenced by the many
lessons I’ve learned this summer. Now I’m off to enjoy a little vacation time
in Zanzibar before I return for the last bit of Ann Arbor summer until I can
say “Winter is here” :)
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