ECWA Evangel Hospital
Encyclopedia
ECWA Evangel Hospital is a 150-bed general hospital located in Jos
, Plateau State
, Nigeria
. It was originally founded in 1959 by SIM
(previously the Sudan Interior Mission and now known as Serving In Mission), but Evangel is now managed under the auspices of the Evangelical Church of West Africa
(ECWA). Evangel is known locally in Jos as "Jankwano" meaning "Red Roof" in Hausa
, as it was one of the first buildings in the area to have a corrugated iron roof.
in 1956 was to build a hospital outside Jos to try to meet an obvious medical need in the town. SIM approved the project and the British Plateau Provincial Office subsequently gave permission to build the hospital in Jos on the present site.
The out-patient clinic building was the first building built, and was dedicated in February 1959. The following year, construction began on the male/female ward and the operating theatre (on the site of the present injection room). Initially, the hospital was staffed primarily by missionaries.
In 1969, the hospital was the first center in West Africa to identify Lassa fever
, the hemorrhagic fever virus. Two missionary nurses died of the virus, and a third nurse, Penny Pinneo, fell ill and was flown to the USA, where the virus was isolated and named.
In 1975, the Plateau State
government took over the mission schools and hospitals in the state; many changes took place and most of the missionary staff were replaced by Nigerians. Two SIM doctors and two SIM nurses stayed to work under the government. After three years, the hospital was given to ECWA
. The pediatric ward was added at that time.
The current maternity ward was opened in 1987, while the old maternity unit, in the private ward, was converted to an ICU and operating theatre, expanded to their present positions. The amenity ward was opened in 1992.
Dr. Phil Andrew, a SIM Australian missionary, started the General practice (US: Family Physician) training program in 1982, with one resident. Since then the hospital emphasis has been in training general practitioners. All the current Nigerian consultants are graduates of this GP program.
Jos
Jos is a city in the Middle Belt of Nigeria.The city has a population of about 1.5 million residents. Popularly called "J-town" or "Jesus Our Saviour" by the residents, it is the administrative capital of Plateau State....
, Plateau State
Plateau State
Plateau State is the twelfth largest state of Nigeria, and is roughly located in the center of the country. It is geographically unique in Nigeria because its boundaries totally surround the Jos Plateau, having the Jos Plateau totally in its central and northern part...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. It was originally founded in 1959 by SIM
Serving In Mission
SIM is an international, interdenominational Christian mission organization. It was established in 1893 by its three founders, Walter Gowans and Rowland Bingham of Canada and Thomas Kent of the United States....
(previously the Sudan Interior Mission and now known as Serving In Mission), but Evangel is now managed under the auspices of the Evangelical Church of West Africa
Evangelical Church of West Africa
The Evangelical Church of West Afria now called Evangelical Church Winning All is one of the largest Church denominations in Nigeria, reaching about five million people. ECWA is a partner church of the international Christian Mission Organisation: Serving In Mission...
(ECWA). Evangel is known locally in Jos as "Jankwano" meaning "Red Roof" in Hausa
Hausa language
Hausa is the Chadic language with the largest number of speakers, spoken as a first language by about 25 million people, and as a second language by about 18 million more, an approximate total of 43 million people...
, as it was one of the first buildings in the area to have a corrugated iron roof.
Medical Departments
Core medical services include surgery, internal medicine, pediatrics, and obstetrics and gynecology. Over the past decade, several new, specialized areas have been added or expanded:- Ophthalmology
- level 3 hospital
- Dentistry
- Vesicovaginal fistulaVesicovaginal fistulaVesicovaginal fistula is a subtype of female urogenital fistula .-Presentation:VVF is an abnormal fistulous tract extending between the bladder and the vagina that allows the continuous involuntary discharge of urine into the vaginal vault....
(VVF) surgery - Comprehensive HIV/AIDSHIVHuman immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
care including antiretroviral drugAntiretroviral drugAntiretroviral drugs are medications for the treatment of infection by retroviruses, primarily HIV. When several such drugs, typically three or four, are taken in combination, the approach is known as Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy, or HAART...
therapy, home based health care, and pastoral, counseling, and support services at the Spring of Life center - Crisis pregnancy services
- Pastoral care
- Medical education, including
- a fully approved general practice (family practice) residency;
- general and specialty rotations for Nigerian doctors in training;
- medical electives for medical students and residents from other countries; and
- training for the Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS)
History
Evangel Hospital was started in 1959 and was the vision of a SIM missionary, Dr. Lonnie Grant. His proposal to SIMServing In Mission
SIM is an international, interdenominational Christian mission organization. It was established in 1893 by its three founders, Walter Gowans and Rowland Bingham of Canada and Thomas Kent of the United States....
in 1956 was to build a hospital outside Jos to try to meet an obvious medical need in the town. SIM approved the project and the British Plateau Provincial Office subsequently gave permission to build the hospital in Jos on the present site.
The out-patient clinic building was the first building built, and was dedicated in February 1959. The following year, construction began on the male/female ward and the operating theatre (on the site of the present injection room). Initially, the hospital was staffed primarily by missionaries.
In 1969, the hospital was the first center in West Africa to identify Lassa fever
Lassa fever
Lassa fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic fever caused by the Lassa virus and first described in 1969 in the town of Lassa, in Borno State, Nigeria, in the Yedseram river valley at the south end of Lake Chad. Clinical cases of the disease had been known for over a decade but had not been connected...
, the hemorrhagic fever virus. Two missionary nurses died of the virus, and a third nurse, Penny Pinneo, fell ill and was flown to the USA, where the virus was isolated and named.
In 1975, the Plateau State
Plateau State
Plateau State is the twelfth largest state of Nigeria, and is roughly located in the center of the country. It is geographically unique in Nigeria because its boundaries totally surround the Jos Plateau, having the Jos Plateau totally in its central and northern part...
government took over the mission schools and hospitals in the state; many changes took place and most of the missionary staff were replaced by Nigerians. Two SIM doctors and two SIM nurses stayed to work under the government. After three years, the hospital was given to ECWA
Evangelical Church of West Africa
The Evangelical Church of West Afria now called Evangelical Church Winning All is one of the largest Church denominations in Nigeria, reaching about five million people. ECWA is a partner church of the international Christian Mission Organisation: Serving In Mission...
. The pediatric ward was added at that time.
The current maternity ward was opened in 1987, while the old maternity unit, in the private ward, was converted to an ICU and operating theatre, expanded to their present positions. The amenity ward was opened in 1992.
Dr. Phil Andrew, a SIM Australian missionary, started the General practice (US: Family Physician) training program in 1982, with one resident. Since then the hospital emphasis has been in training general practitioners. All the current Nigerian consultants are graduates of this GP program.