1. June 30, 2014 Issue 1; Volume 1
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Welcome to the First Issue of Malamulo
Hospital Newsletter
We are very excited to present
the first edition of the Malamulo
Hospital Quarterly Newsletter
(MHQN). This Newsletter is a
medium in which we share
information pertaining to our
development, projects,
testimonials and other various
activities that take place within
Malamulo. Whether you once
served at the Malamulo Mission
years ago, are currently serving,
or are new and old friends living
around the world we hope that
you’ll see evidence of God’s
great work being achieved
through his people. This being
doing by serving and blessing
others through the ministry of
healing, while equally being
served and blessed. As
Malamulo continues to grow
and improve the health of its
communities, we hope the
information provided in this
newsletter will stimulate your
prayers and support in various
ways. We will send out an
updated newsletter on a
quarterly basis. If you would
like to subscribe send an email
to Temidayo@malamulohospital.org
with subject heading “Malamulo
Newsletter Subscription”
BRIEF HISTORY OF
MALAMULO
Malamulo Hospital is a
Seventh-day Adventist medical
institution, located 65
kilometers southeast of the city
of Blantyre in Thyolo District,
the southern part of Malawi.
The hospital serves the
communities through both
curative and preventive
interventions by providing
them with care through
inpatient and outpatient
services. The inpatient services
include Pediatrics and Maternity
care as well as General
medicine and Surgery.
Outpatient services focus
primarily on HIV Testing and
Counseling Prevention of
mother to child transmission of
HIV treatment for HIV/AIDS
patients, Nutrition, Family
Planning, and Maternal and
child health services. The
hospital has fifteen (15) mobile
sites with three (3) centers
operating on daily basis for out-
patient services. A number of
activities are implemented with
assistance from both local and
international donors. Malamulo
works in collaboration with
various stakeholders, including
the Ministry of Health, which
provide technical and material
support to ensure smooth
operations of the hospital.
In This Issue
Welcome…………………. 1
Moving Forward ………… 2
MSF Handover…….. 3
Malamulo Nurses leading
by example……………….
3
Surprise……………… 3
Hips don’t lie………… 4
Alumni Highlights…… 5
Testimonial ……........ 6
Contact info…………… 7
Spring 2014
Malamulo Hospital May 2014

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Moving Forward
Welcoming Change with Open Arms
Over the last couple of
months Malamulo has gone
through several changes
particularly among its
leadership staff. In April, we
said farewell to our beloved Dr.
Christy Shank, Malamulo’s
Medical Director who served
the hospital for six years. It
was rather bittersweet to let
her go because of the great
impact she had on Malamulo,
but heartwarming to know
she will be embarking upon
new and exciting adventures.
Although change is difficult it
also comes bearing gifts. For
Malamulo, these gifts happen
to come in the form of
individuals who are
passionate about mission
service and ready to build
upon past successes and take
Malamulo Hospital to the next
level in serving the
community.
In January, Malamulo Hospital
received its new Chief
Executive Officer, Jason
Blanchard. Jason is from New
Gloucester,
Maine, USA.
He received
a Bachelor
of Arts in
Public
Relations
from
Southern
Adventist
University
and a Masters in Business
Administration from the
University of Redlands, CA.
Jason has extensive
background in business
having owned and managed
several international
companies in the mobile and
wireless industries. He is
excited about the opportunity
to serve Malamulo and says “I
did not find fulfillment
working for myself, but
feel working for ‘The Least
of These’ is what God had
planned for me
In February, Malamulo also
received its new Logistics and
Special Projects Manager,
Temidayo
Ogunrinu,
a
Californian
with a
Bachelor of
Science
degree
from
Oakwood
University
and a
recent Masters in Public
Health graduate from Loma
Linda University. Temidayo
Says, “I don’t take this
opportunity for granted.
As much as it’s exciting to
utilize the skills I’ve
obtained in school to
impact lives, I know that
this is an opportunity to be
humbled, to see the Lords
power in not just what he
can do through me in the
lives of others, but what
can be done to me through
the lives of others”
This April, Dr. Jamie Crounse
returned to Malamulo after his
annual leave to take on the
position as Medical Director.
Dr. Crounse hails from Berrien
Springs, Michigan. He is an
Alumni of Loma Linda
University School of Medicine
where he received his MD,
MPH in Family and Preventive
Medicine. Prior to his move to
Malawi, he worked as an
attending
and urgent
care
physician
at Loma
Linda
University
Medical
Center.
Jamie is
enthusiastic about being back
and says “I'm hoping that
Malamulo Hospital can
forge collaborative
partnerships that result in
a higher level of care for
our patients”
In May, Dr. Arega Fekadu, a
surgeon from Gimbe, Ethiopia
came to
serve
Malamulo
as the as
the
Assistant
Program
Director
of the
Pan-
African
Academy
of Christian Surgeons (PAACS)
Program. The PAACS program
is a great addition to not just
Malamulo but Malawi because
it focuses on training
surgeons who will serve in
rural Africa. Previously to his
arrival, Dr. Arega was a
surgery consultant at Gimbe
SDA Hospital while also
serving as the acting PAACS

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program director at Soddo
Christian Hospital, Ethiopia.
Dr. Arega says, “I am very
excited about the
upcoming PAACS training
program at Malamulo and I
look forward to giving a
good start to it. In fact, it
is a dream come true to
start to train African SDA
physicians to become
general surgeons and
continue to serve Africa
and glorify God”
We are excited to have these
dedicated additions to our
hardworking Malamulo team.
We are all hopeful to see great
things yielded from their work.
Please keep them, our staff
and patients in your prayers.
MSF Toyota Land
Cruiser Handover
May 27, 2014 Médecins Sans
Frontières (MSF) donated a
Toyota Land Cruiser to the
Malamulo Community Health
Department (CHD).
Pax Matipwiri, the Director of
the CHD is excited about its
use and what it will do to
increase the programs
capacity.
Mr. Matipwiri says “Our
department is excited that
we will now be able to
serve those in the most
hard to reach
communities.” Pictured
below is Mr. Matipwiri
receiving the land cruiser keys
from MSF staff.
In addition to the vehicle, MSF
donated spare parts to ensure
the maintenance of the
vehicle for the next 50,000
Kilometers. Malamulo
Hospital and its CHD is
sincerely grateful to MSF for
their generosity.
Malamulo
Nurses Leading
by Example
Nurses are the largest group
of health care providers in
Malawi and they perform most
of the health care for its
citizens, yet there is a large
shortage of them. In Malawi it
is reported that there are 37
nurses per 100,000 people.
With this, it is safe to say that
Malawian nurses are
overworked and often times
burnt out, which can have a
negative effect on patient care.
Despite this, Malamulo
Hospital nurses are still going
the extra mile in providing
quality health care.
In March 2014, the Malawi
Nurses and Midwifery Council
announced Agnes Ambali as
Malamulo’s Nurse of the Year.
This award is only given to
one nurse from each hospital
throughout Malawi.
Ms. Ambali works in the
maternity ward and has been
with Malamulo Hospital for
over three years. She’s been
practicing midwifery and
nursing for nine years and
loves what she does. Agnes’
passion for nursing comes
from her ability to help bring
new life into the world in a
safe
manner,
while
making
sure the
mothers
giving life
are
equally
safe and
healthy.
When she
see’s patients coming in
suffering from various
conditions it gives her joy to
know she has the knowledge
and expertise to alleviate their
burden.
Agnes wants to encourage her
fellow workers to continue the
good work and to always
remember to put themselves
in the patient’s position. She
says, “When you can do this
you develop compassion
for them and it makes
doing your job all the more
easier”. Malamulo celebrates
Mrs. Petani (MH Senior CH Nurse) Pax
Matipwiri (MH Director of CH) and Sara Daho
(MSF Field Coordinator) (L-R) signing
documents for the Land Cruiser hand over

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Agnes and is happy to have
this shining star at their
institution!
Surprise
By Dr. Jamie Crounse
Sometimes my job takes me
by surprise. Like the time we
were delivering twins and
found triplets. How those
three triplets all weighing less
than 3 lbs in the harsh African
conditions survived, and how
just last week their mother
and grandma “agogo” with
the triplets visited us at our
house looking very healthy
and fat at 13 months of age.
I really liked that surprise,
and look forward to surprises
like that.
Unfortunately, not all
surprises in my job are good.
The other day I was called to
see an 18 month old baby who
was struggling to breathe. His
bed looked large next to his
small body with his mother
snuggled next to him. Mom
was quiet and sweet as almost
every Malawian mother I have
met watching over their
precious charge. The baby
while not wasted appeared
chronically ill. It was not very
surprising to find out that this
child had HIV, and was likely
struggling with pulmonary
tuberculosis. I wish it were
surprising, it’s not.
It seemed Mom had been
diagnosed with HIV after she
had delivered this child, and
therefore had not been put on
treatment to prevent
transmission to her baby
during pregnancy. In Malawi,
there has been a lot of effort
to prevent congenital
transmission of HIV from
mothers to children by
universal HIV testing and
treatment during pregnancy.
Through national efforts, the
rate of perinatal transmission
has dropped from 25-30% to
less than 5%. Consistent with
the African trend of improved
outcomes for people living
with HIV/AIDS, these
statistics give me hope that
one day this scourge will
abate.
Unfortunately, my little
patient and his mother missed
out on all this. I continued
reading the story -- six
months ago this quiet sweet
28 year-old mother of three
had been diagnosed with
stage 4 inoperable cervical
cancer. She would not have
long to raise her children.
I have become a little bit
“tough” after working in an
environment where bad
outcomes are more common
than we would like, but that
caught me off guard. How in
a short time this nursing
mother would be taken from
her family by the sadistic
synergism of two preventable
diseases. How her last to be
born son was also suffering
from a deadly combination of
preventable infectious disease.
How if he were to survive this
illness, for the rest of his life
he will deal with the stigma
and consequences of having
congenital HIV, and to face it
all without that comfort God
has given to little boys who
deal with injustice…
Cervical cancer is the leading
cause of cancer related death
in Malawi. It is a sinister
disease that attacks women in
their prime of motherhood.
The pathogenicity and course
of HPV (the cervical cancer
causing virus) in HIV is
accelerated, and a cancer that
would ordinarily take decades
to progress to a life-
threatening disease, only
takes a few years or less. It
is because of this that our
hospital has targeted cervical
cancer as a top priority for
prevention. Through a simple
screening technique called a
pap smear, the rates of
cervical cancer have been cut
by over 80% in developed
countries. Malamulo Hospital
is unique in Malawi where a
pap smear program has been
developed. With the help of
Loma Linda University, the
PAPS International Team, the
Coto Family, and the
leadership of our previous
Medical Director, Dr. Cristy
Shank, as well as our
dedicated Malamulo staff we
have to date screened almost
3000 women. We have
treated over 100 early
cancers with minimally--
invasive surgical procedures,
and over 30 women have had
a life-saving hysterectomy
provided free-of-charge by
our Surgeon Ryan Hayton.
Through what has been done
in the last two years at our
Women’s Health Center is by
the grace of God we have
saved over 125 mothers’ lives.
How surprising is that?
If you would like to partner with
us to help Mary, please see
“Partner with Us” Section at
the end of the newsletter

5. June 30, 2014 Issue 1; Volume 1
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Hips Don’t Lie
Meet Mary Lipega. She is a 42
year old mother of four. You
may not notice it from the
picture but Mary has been
suffering from Avascular
Necrosis and increasing
osteoarthritis in her left and
right hip for over 15 years.
Avascular Necrosis commonly
known as AVN, now better
known as osteonecrosis
results from the interruption
of the normal blood flow to
the femoral head or what
many know as the “ball” that
fits into the hip’s socket. If left
untreated, the loss of blood
flow causes the femoral head
to die and eventually collapse.
This causes unimaginable
pain, loss of hip motion and
severe arthritis.
For Mary, this condition has
not only debilitated her
physically but has caused
excess emotional and
financial burden on her and
her family. Mary is no longer
capable of working because
she can’t walk for long periods
of time. She is bound to stay
at home to tend to her four
kids. With only one income
coming from her husband the
family struggles to provide
the basic essentials, such as
food, clothing and for Mary’s
condition, medication to ease
the pain. Mary described her
home life as depressing
because she can no longer
keep up with her motherly
and wifely duties, which has
created tension between her
and her husband. Mary fears
for what will happen to her
family if she does not receive
the necessary treatment soon.
Since Mary’s AVN is extremely
progressive the only
treatment is bilateral hip
replacement. Although
Malamulo Hospital carries out
dozens of surgeries on a
weekly basis, it does not have
the capacity to administer a
surgery of this manner in a
safe way. Additionally, no
other hospital in Malawi does
except for CURE Hospital
located in Blantyre, Malawi.
Due to the extensiveness of
her surgery and the capacity
in which CURE works, each hip
replacement cost $3500 USD
accumulating to $7,000. With
Mary barely having the ability
to provide the basic
necessities for her family, she
desperately needs assistance
in financing her surgery.
If you would like to partner with
us to help Mary, please see
“Partner with Us” Section at
the end of the newsletter
Alumni
Highlights
Like most missionary
institutions there are vast
spectrums of culture from
around the globe. The
difference in culture can either
bring the people together of
tear them apart. However, a
single individual’s actions can
set the trend for unity for
generation upon
generation.
In many cultures
food is utilized as
a tool to unite
one another.
Giada De
Laurentiis, a
famous Food
Network Chef said, “Food
brings people together on
many different levels. It’s not
only nourishment for the soul
and body; it’s truly love”.
Dr. Bill Hayton and his wife
Cheryl understood this when
they arrived at Malamulo for
their 6 year DMA service. Each
month from 1985 till 1991 the
Haytons would invite their
colleagues and students from
the training school over to
their home for Friday night
fellowship with food and
music.
This was a very meaningful
experience not just because
appetites were being satisfied
but because it allowed
barriers to be broken and
friendships to be established.
Cheryl described her
experience as, “It was more

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than just eating food,
these were my friends and
we prayed together we
prayed for one another and
I think that’s what made
this so invaluable.” Bill’s
explanation was, “What’s
the point of doing mission
work when you can’t reach
people at their core and
when you can’t have
meaningful relationships
with them? It’s not just
about the people you are
serving but the people
you’re serving with…..You
see each other every day,
but you don’t even know
how your fellow colleague
is living …it made no sense
to me, so my Wife and I
made the decision to act
and once we started
inviting our colleagues
over, they would invite us
to their homes as well. We
would talk for hours upon
hours realizing we had
more in common than we
thought.”
Bill and Cheryl Hayton have
visited Malamulo at least 5
times since leaving in 1991.
They enjoy visiting old
colleagues and friends as well
as their son Dr. Ryan Hayton
and his family who have been
living and working in
Malamulo since 2010. For
their most recent visit in May
2014, Bill assisted in the
Women’s Center,
administering PAP smears
while Cheryl coordinated the
fellowship dinner which took
places in the Students for
International Mission Service
(SIMS) Guest house.
Fifteen of their former
colleagues attended. They
reminisced and laughed. They
all agreed that getting
together with old friends was
a joy they all experienced that
night.
Bill and Cheryl are two of
many who’ve passed through
Malamulo and maintained
meaningful relationships with
their friends here. It’s
comforting to know that
people still see the value in
this but most importantly it’s
encouraging to know there
are many who still maintain
the essence of why God has
called us to serve.
Proverbs: 17:17 “A friend is
always loyal, and a brother
is born to help in time of
need.”
Testimonial
“A long Road ahead, but at
Least we know how far”
Mike and Nia Parmal are from
Blantyre. About 7 months ago
Mike went to a hospital
concerned with a painful sore
on his leg that would not heal.
During the visit the Doctors
informed Mike he had
diabetes, which caused him
not to notice the initial sore
and also contributed to the
severe infection and pain. He
was sent home with
antibiotics. Weeks later, Nia,
realized his sore was not
healing and grew increasingly
concerned. She visited
another hospital and they
operated on the sore to
remove a small portion of it.
Months went by and the sore
still did not heal. Nia was
worried and frustrated
because Mike’s father died of
a very similar diabetes
complication which was
inappropriately diagnosed and
treated. About 5 months after
Mike’s initial visit to the
doctors he suffered from a
stroke that debilitated the
right side of his body. Nia felt
hopeless and thought she was
going to lose her husband.
Then someone advised her to
visit the Malamulo’s Limbe
clinic.
There she met Dr. Fekadu
who informed Nia and Mike
about the seriousness of his
condition and urged him to
come to Malamulo amputate
his leg to prevent further
spread of infection. Mike and
Nia agreed. After much run
around and frustration from
the other health care
institutions, Nia was surprised
to see how invested
Malamulo doctors were in
making sure Mikes life was
preserved.
Before the surgery additional
tests were performed and the
results indicated Mike had
several blood clots in his head
and legs which most likely
caused his stroke and loss of
blood flow. With these results
they quickly rushed him to
surgery.
During recovery Mike couldn’t
help but be ecstatic. Why?
You may ask, especially after
losing a leg and hearing of his
new diagnoses. Well, Mike no
longer felt the pain that had
been agonizing him over the
last 7 months and most
importantly, Mike felt he could

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finally take control of his
health because he knew what
was wrong with him. Nia was
even more excited because
she can now get him the
appropriate treatment.
Mike is not quite out of the
woods yet, he still has a long
road of rehabilitation and
recovery ahead but at least he
and Nia can make the
appropriate decisions for his
care.
In many places around the
world people die due to lack of
healthcare. Even when
healthcare is available people
are often times improperly
diagnosed, which can have
detrimental outcomes on
patient.
We thank God Mike was able
to get the healthcare he so
desperately needed.
We also thank God for the
skilled educated health care
professionals at Malamulo
that were able to deliver
it.These testimonials reassure
us that Malamulo is on the
right path, providing holistic
quality care to all that are in
need!
.
Pictured below are our
Physicians who so tirelessly
work with people like Mike
and Nia.
From Left to right are Dr. Elmore Kemwendo, Dr. Jamie
Crounse, Dr. Arega Fekadu and Dr. Ryan Hayton.
This Newsletter is provided to you to keep you updated on the most recent developments and activities at
Malamulo Hospital.
Malamulo Hospital is a Seventh Day Adventist Institution
Our vision is to be the preferred provider for specialized healthcare and training in Malawi and beyond.
Our mission is to provide competent healthcare and training through skilled staff members, prioritizing the
health of our patients with a special emphasis on spiritual care.
Contact Us
Website: www.malamulohospital.org
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/groups/mymalamulo
Newsletter Chief Editor: Temidayo@malamulohospital.org
Partner with Us: If you would like to partner with us by giving a donation we request you do so by
making you contribution through Adventist Health International http://www.ahiglobal.org/main/main/.
You can indicate where you would like your contribution by noting;
“Malamulo Cervical Cancer Project”
“Malamulo Patient Donation: Mary Lipenga”
Malamulo “Project Fund”