Profile of ST Albert's Mission Hospital
District Hospital of Centenary - Mashonaland Central Province Zimbabwe

St Albert’s Mission Hospital is a Catholic Church Mission Hospital that was founded by the Jesuit Fathers in 1964 and had a capacity of 85 beds. It orders with Mozambique on the north side. Some school children and staff were abducted towards Mozambique during the war of Independence, one holy girl died during the process. Now the hospital has 140 beds and its bed occupancy is always above 80% being the only Hospital in the District for a population of over 115,000 people. It has 11 Rural Health Centres affiliated to it. Since 1999 the Jesuit Fathers handed over the Mission to the local clergy who run the Institution on behalf of the Bishop of Chinhoyi. The Hospital is being managed by the International Medical Association which has its origins from Rome Italy.

This Hospital has always 100% availability of the doctors since has three permanent doctors who do not have private practice and the dedicated and committed staff is ever present. During the industrial action by the health personnel it continued to offer excellent services. This is also a strategic Hospital in the event of floods, and if ever the ailing Kariba dam wall falls apart, this is the only Institution that will cater for the disaster. On the disaster plan it is well marked.

Services offered by the Hospital to the whole population in the District:

General Medicine in various departments of the Hospital: Services are offered at the Out Patient/Casualty, Rehabilitation/Physiotherapy, Male ward, Female ward, Maternity and isolation. The laboratory and X-ray departments are functional as well though at a reduced capacity for lack of re-agents, films and electricity.

General surgery and Gynaecology and Obstetrics are fully operational because of the presence of a regular visiting surgeon and a resident gynaecologist consultant.

Prevention/Public Health: St Albert’s Hospital was the in the country to start the PMTC programme using Nevirapine. It was replicated in the whole country. We offer; Vaccinations against the seven killer diseases, Polio, Tuberculosis, Diphtheria, Hepatitis, Whooping cough, Tetanus and Measles. Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission of HIV, Distribution of preventive measures against HIV, Roll Back Malaria- Spraying, prophylaxis, use of treated mosquito nets, Voluntary Counselling and Testing for HIV so that the positive can be put on HAART and the negative are followed up to remain negative.

Rural Health Centres: Most of them are offering a Comprehensive Health care service ranging from curative, VCT and immunisation using the super market approach.

Domiciliary Visits: The Hospital has a mobile Team that works together with trained community care givers to that assure that the discharged patients are not left on their own. Chronic patients receive their drugs at home or at the nearest clinic, babies born from HIV parents are followed up to age of 18 months and that community counselling becomes an on going exercise if we have to win against HIV/AIDS. Social and moral support is offered to the vulnerable groups especially the orphans who are over 3,000 in our area. At distance adoption program is sending to school over 400 orphans. Last year in 2008 for the out of school vulnerable children a skills training centre has been opened with two disciplines sewing and agriculture, but also taps of the talents that the children have; e.g. art, punch work etc.