Extremely Late Update

  It's coming up on one year since our team flew to Uganda to computerize the Engeye Health Clinic's medical records.  A lot has happened  since then.  Our server's motherboard failed in the summer and we ran the system off of one of the netbooks for a few months.  Kathy and Joe moved to Uganda in September for an extended stay to help out and brought a replacement server. While we did loose some data due to the hardware failure, most historical data was safely backed up off-site and easily restored when the system was replaced.

  Since this Blog serves as the main news site for the OCEMR software project and our involvement with the Engeye organization, We're going to be working on some stories about what has happened over the past year and where we are going from here.

  You can support the efforts of the Engeye Health Clinic by making a donation online today.  Thanks for reading this update and stay tuned for more stories over the coming weeks.

Software Project Open Sourced!

  As originally planned, I've licensed the source code for this project under the GPLv3 and released it to the world:

OCEMR Project Home Page

  Some more work will need to be done to generalize the code, document the installation, and package the software to make it easier to setup and use. I am currently looking at the software roadmap and plan to include the above in an upcoming v1.0 release.

Some Photos

Here are some select photos from our trip:




Click here for the complete Photo Album.

Back in the States.

After white water rafting the headwaters of the nile all day friday, we flew to Amsterdam and walked around downtown for an hour Saturday morning. We flew back across the pond, battled US customs, and are awaiting for our flight from Minneapolis to Chicago. Sick of airplanes but excited to be so close..

Changed Ears

We are leaving the Engeye clinc in less than two hours. I am in denial. I think we all wish we had more time, but such is life. The system is successfully in place. Dr. Kathy and Dr.Joe did their very best in training the staff, organizing the pharmacy, treating the patients, basically helping out in every way they could. Philip created an amazing system that I know he is proud to have his name on. I still think he is a genius! As for me, I finished the OCEMR manual and put a copy at each station in the clinic. If any questions come up, more than likely, an answer will be in the manual. This has been the experience of a life time.

It's your last night in Africa

Every step you take, you should

The road always finds a place

As you hoped, it would

The fairies changed your ears to hear

and whispered to your skin

It's your last night in Africa

Webale

forever

within

Winding down our on-site time

  Today we printed out a few copies of the manuals and other documentation we wanted to leave in hard copy.  The system was up and running for a second day without problem, let's hope that the trend continues.  Our plan is to head out to Kampala this afternoon, whitewater raft the Nile tomorrow and then get on an airplane tomorrow night after midnight to head home. We may not find the Internet again before Holland or the states, so I leave you with this...

  While we will be working on the software and the process into the future, our time on-site is drawing to a close. Last summer, around a campfire, in northern Minnesota, Joe asked me what I thought about designing an electronic medical records system for the clinic. With a lot of support from family and friends, we were able to pull off the logistics and make it out here. Almost halfway around the earth, about halfway in earths orbit around the sun later, we're packing up loose ends and getting ready to take the long road home to where we belong, or, I should say, where we come from.

Kickin' it in Kampala

It is currently 1:37 a.m. in Ddegeya. Phil and I are still awake and working. Joe is in the other room "working" or rather sleeping on the computer. Another long day at the clinic. We only have two more days to add the final touches to the system so I'm predicting more late nights.

Chicago feels like a dream away or like a past life. I miss everyone but somehow I don't want to leave and am dreading going back to the hustle and bustle of everyday life in the states. Time does not seem as rushed here and the weather, scenery, and people are all just amazing.

Side note: Joe is currently talking in his sleep! (hehe) something about a rattle snake and a jack! Oh yes, and he just fell off of his chair! Too funny!!!

We ventured to Kampala this weekend to clear our heads. The taxi ride there was incredibly uncomfortable. The bus was totally full and the taxi kept stopping to pick up more passengers, all the time I'm wondering where in the h are these people going to fit, but somehow they shuffled us around and cramped us in like clowns.

Once we arrived in Kampala we hit all the computer stores possible. We finally found at least some of supplies we needed. However, the UPS with a usb connection was almost impossible to find. After all the exciting electronics shopping, we hit the craft market and picked up some cool souvenirs! I am terrible at haggling so I found out.

With the market behind us, we walked to Hendi, an Indian restaurant with amazing food! We ordered five main dishes and three kinds of Naan. Yummy! Unfortunately, the next day we all paid for that meal... From Hendi we hiked through the city at night all the way to the Back Packers hostel on the other side of town. It was quite a hike but it was so cool to travel through the city at night. The roads are dangerous though and I think I only saw two traffic lights. There are definitely no Pedestrian cross-walks. It's pretty much cross at your own risk, which made it more exciting in my opinion.

Once we arrived at the hostel we had a great room, a hot shower, and some drinks. Phil and I stayed up with the bartenders for a while. We met a guy named Martin from Poland who will be living in Kampala for six months but hardly speaks English. Freddie, the other bartender is a native of Uganda but is planning on traveling to Mexico to volunteer to educate the poor. All in all, our trip to Kampala was a blast!

Things are running smoother with the system and hopefully will continue that way. In my last blog, I failed to mention another very important and unexpected person, Sarah . Sarah has been in Ddegeya for about six months now. She is originally from New York but decided after graduating that she wanted to teach in Africa. The school she teaches at is currently on holiday so she has been available to help us train the staff and teach us about the culture. She is like the rock star of Ddegeya, everywhere she goes people call her name! We are all so fortunate to have her help and her friendship, another truly amazing woman!

Sula Balungie
Sleep Well
Quell all the worry
Be still

P.S. I smell.