Trials and Triumphs - Huntington University

OUTREACH AND ORGANIZATION 389
$7,000 to the hospital as a gesture to the country of Sierra Leone. 27 A
gift from the mission board in America enabled the doctor to purchase
a new operating table and sterilizer. A 34-bed medical-surgical building
soon came into being with an operating room and the sterilizing
equipment in place.
Pratt brought some aspects of the hospital "out of the bush." The
missionaries had been inclined to accept circumstances as they were
and try to make the best of the situation.
Whereas he saw things as they were and set out to make them BETTER. He did
not tolerate anything inferior whether it were drugs, techniques, or just lack of
facilities. He had a captivating personality and that caused people to WANT to
do the job and do it right, though it might be quite difficult .... Before he
would minister to babies who were brought to the hospital laden down with
charms around their necks, waists, wrists, and ankles, those charms must be
removed. From the very first, he told the parents that there was one thing he
wanted them to get straight—THAT GOD WAS THE DOCTOR AT THE
HOSPITAL, and he was only God's instrument. 28
Being a Sierra Leonian, Pratt not only had an advantage over
missionaries from the United States in language, but also in climatic
adaptation. From 1959 he continued until 1973 when he furloughed to
the United States for treatment of a serious eye condition. Ultimately
he established a medical practice in the city of Dayton, Ohio, where he
had formerly completed his medical internship.
Ronald P. Baker, M.D., arrived in Sierra Leone as a doctor in
September 1974. His knowledge of the Mende language 29 likewise gave
him immediate access to many of the situations that a non-Mende
speaking missionary had to learn. His knowledge as a physician and his
skill as a surgeon have endeared him to the nationals.
Baker's goal is to add preventative health care to that of the remedial.
By sending a health care nurse out into the villages, he hopes to
instruct in preventive care. During his 1980-1981 furlough, Thomas
Ritter, M.D., headed the health team at Mattru. Baker hopes that
additional staff will be retained so that the preventive goal may be
pursued. 30
The prospects for additional doctors of medicine for the
Mattru hospital are very good, while the need for nurses is urgent.
The Mattru hospital which began as a dispensary, now consists of a
69-bed facility. It includes pediatrics, obstetrics, surgical, and outpatient
units. Other buildings on the approximately 15-acre grounds
include a pharmacy, a generating plant, as well as five residences for the
doctor and nurses.
Fleming in Trail Blazers gave the roll call of registered nurses during