The work of St. Luke Catholic Hospital and College of Nursing in Wolisso, Ethiopia is one of the hundreds of ways in which Medical Mission Sisters around the world try to be a healing presence to those in need today.

Serving a population of roughly 346,000, St. Luke Catholic Hospital opened on January 1st, 2001. The Ethiopian Catholic Church owns the 96-bed hospital. Medical Mission Sisters serve on the hospital staff, along with Sisters from five other communities. Sister Elaine Kohls, MMS, serves as the hospital's general manager; Sister Pia Poovan, MMS, is general surgeon.

The services provided by the hospital dramatically increased in the past year. In 2002, there were 20,570 outpatient visits - an increase of 40% over the previous year. Admissions in 2002 increased by 30%, to 3,425.

A total of 79 students are enrolled in the College of Nursing. The first group graduated in August, 2001, and the second group in August, 2002. Then most of those new graduates returned to the College to begin their one-year, in-service education program. 75% of their time will now be spent on practical application of their knowledge, in various departments of the hospital.

Orthopedic surgery and otolaryngology services became available to patients in 2002. Also, monthly public health outreach services were established for five kebeles (peasant associations).

"For the outreach areas, we have begun work with the communities, organizing and having them talk out their priorities," explains Sr. Elaine. "#1 is safe water, #2 is health care (as the areas we serve are remote), and #3 is for access (i.e., roads, bridges, etc.) So far, we have been able to dig three hand-dug wells, and to protect three springs."

Sister Elaine originally came to Africa in 1968. "What we do is so little in an ocean of needs: material, psychological, and spiritual," she says. "So life has become a walk in faith ... to be Christ bearers with all that can entail and to let them be Christ bearers in turn, to us and to those among whom they live and work."

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