MDR TB Treatment Center
Multi-Drug Resistant TB (MDR-TB) care at Bishoftu Hospital was launched in June 2013. Through basic training in MDR-TB, the treatment center was launched and provided a patient-friendly service to MDR-TB patients at a time when stigma and fear towards the patients were very high and DR-TB care was highly centralized and limited to hospitals in the Capital of the Nation. With proper nursing care, support, and treatment regimen design in accordance with the latest guidelines, patient monitoring, and management, the Bishoftu treatment initiation center has demonstrated effectively that MDR-TB is curable. The treatment initiating center (TIC) was subsequently renovated through the USAID TB CARE project, implemented by the KNCV Tuberculosis as of September 2014 and once again demonstrated professional excellence in successfully establishing the first national new drug initiating referral care center for management of DR-TB patients. The facility has been an oasis of research and successful treatment of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB). It has served as one of the very first leading sites in Ethiopia for clinical trials conducted through Partners in Health on using new and repurposed TB drugs for pre-XDR-TB and XDR-TB treatment which had a ground-breaking outcome and innovative changes in global XDR-TB care.
Bishoftu Hospital MDR-TB referral care center has since become the only referral center in the region to treat DR-TB patients with limited options using new drugs and has been nicknamed “The Bedaquiline resort”. Our dedication towards the highest standard of DR-TB clinical care has earned us success in demonstrating very high cure rates (cure rate of 78.5%) among the cohort of DR-TB patients infected with highly resistant forms of Tb with significant comorbidities and advanced disease and it still continues to do so with 87% success rate in the past fiscal year.
Through the personal initiative of our world-renowned, Kochon prize winner, DR-TB focal nurse, Sr Hiwot Menbere, we have reached out to the celebrated national TB Good Will Ambassador and made the ambassador visit the center. Following the visit, the Ambassador donated significant materials for the patients under the center and was exemplary and inspirational to top government leadership.
Our center has experience hosting several delegates from international institutions (EU parliamentarians, French Parliamentary delegates, Guests from the global fund, The French Presidential Council members, Unitad delegates, etc..) sharing their experiences in caring for needy DR-TB patients and practically displaying how the globally mobilized resources are impacting the lives of people affected with TB. The center remains to be a preferred site for visits by local and international organizations and is a site for DR-TB care advocacy.
Bishoftu TIC is also well renowned in patient care and has been a site that has cultivated outstanding health experts. The center has become a champion in successfully treating MDR and XDR-TB patients often with several co-morbidities and advanced diseases through the combined efforts of our team. We have 12 beds for inpatient management of critically ill and socio-economically incapacitated patients. As per WHO approved ambulatory model of care, we also provide outpatient DR-TB patient care services.
Our team strives to advance clinical care standards for DR-TB in the near future, through strictly continuing mentorship and capacitation activities for Treatment follow-up centers and piloting the very first community-based DR-TB care at a primary health care level in Ethiopia. This initiation and proposal of ours have gotten promising reviews and are motivated by recent WHO recommendations.
Our Vision
- To be leaders in caring for Tuberculosis (TB) patients and empowering communities to be free of TB
Mission
To empower and care for communities by providing health care services to:
- Prevent TB-HIV and DRTB
- Improve diagnosis, treatment, care, and adherence support for people infected and affected by TB-HIV and DR-TB
- Build the capacity of individuals and organizations to provide optimal comprehensive TB- HIV and DR-TB care.
- Participate in research activities, monitoring, and evaluation to improve comprehensive TB-HIV and DR-TB care.
Values
- Professionalism
Acting, consistently, in a way that reflects the vision, mission, and values of the facility and the Hospital. - Empowerment: Identifying, providing, and accessing opportunities for all staff for ongoing professional and personal development, and developing healthy communities through extensive health education and promotion services.
- Appreciation: Providing positive acknowledgment of the good work done by our staff and managers.
- Respect: Ensuring equity and equality, and acknowledging the value, uniqueness, and diversity that each person possesses.
- Accountability: Making sure our partners, donors, and stakeholders are satisfied with the outcomes of projects through transparent grants and funds management.
French Parliamentary Delegates and USAID officials visit
Catchment Area Meeting
New Drug Initiation Center
patient health education and adherence counselling
Certificate of Recognition