David Gordon Memorial Hospital

Livingstonia, Malawi

The David Gordon Memorial (DGM) Hospital in Livingstonia, Malawi established in 1910, is part of a rich Presbyterian heritage in the area. In the 1850's and 1860's, the well-known explorer, Dr. David Livingstone, a Scots Presbyterian, sent out a fervent appeal for missionaries to be sent to Nyasaland (now Malawi.) In 1875, the Free Church of Scotland responded to that appeal by establishing the Livingstonia Mission. The present Synod of Livingstonia which oversees DGM Hospital is an outgrowth of that original mission.

The isolated DGM Hospital offers both inpatient and outpatient care. It also supports eight outreach under five clinics in the surrounding countryside where the emphasis is placed on primary health care and nutrition. The three Health Centers at Tcharo, Mlowe and Luwuchi (close to Lake Malawi) have maternity wards and outpatient treatment departments. One also offers a nutritional rehabilitation center. DGM Hospital also supports the Zunga Health Post. The hospital also has a shelter for family members who accompany patients. Often traveling long distances, they cook and provide other basic care for the patients during their stay at the clinic. The health centers have solar lighting funded by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

The hospital provides effective health care with a staff of a Principal Clinical Superintendent and eight nurses. The total number of personnel at the hospital, three health centers and health post is one hundred. The hospital facility is a small community unto itself. Sixty-three inpatient beds are available in several detached buildings. The hospital has a dental room, a lab, a pharmacy and a room for surgery. In addition, there is a carpentry shop, a mortuary and several small buildings. The DGM Hospital is operated as part of the cooperative health care efforts of the Synod of Livingstonia of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian.

The Medical Benevolence Foundation is raising funds for the Gordon Memorial Hospital Maternal Child Care Program.

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