Kalongo Hospital, also known as Dr. Ambrosoli Memorial Hospital, is a hospital in

Northern Uganda The Northern Region is one of four regions in the country of Uganda. As of Uganda's 2014 census, the region's population was . Districts As of 2010, the Northern Region had 30 districts A district is a type of administrative division tha ...

. It is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

hospital, serving the town of

Kalongo Kalongo is a town in the Northern Region of Uganda. It is one of the urban centers in Agago District. Location Kalongo is located in the Acholi sub-region. It is approximately southeast of Kitgum, the nearest large town. This is approximatel ...

and surrounding areas of

Agago District The Agago District is a Ugandan district located in North east Uganda. Location Agago District is bordered by Kitgum District to the north, Kotido District to the northeast, Abim District to the east, Otuke District, to the south, and Pader ...

Pader District Pader may refer to: People with the surname *Hilaire Pader (1607-1677), French painter and poet. Places * Pader District, a district of Uganda * Pader, Uganda, capital of Pader District * Pader (river), a river in Germany Organizations * PADER, ...

and parts of

Kitgum District Kitgum District is a district in Northern Uganda. It is named after its major town of Kitgum, where the district headquarters is located. It has suffered many deaths and social disruption resulting from the 20-year civil war within the region duri ...

Location

The hospital is located in the town of Kalongo,

Acholi sub-region The Acholi people (also spelled Acoli) are a Nilotic ethnic group of Luo peoples (also spelled Lwo), found in Magwi County in South Sudan and Northern Uganda (an area commonly referred to as Acholiland), including the districts of Agago, Amuru, ...

, in the Northern Region of

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

. This location lies approximately , by road, northeast of

Gulu Gulu is a city in the Northern Region of Uganda. It is the commercial and administrative centre of Gulu District. The coordinates of the city of Gulu are 2°46'54.0"N 32°17'57.0"E. The distance from Gulu to Kampala, Uganda's capital and large ...

, the largest city in the

sub-region A subregion is a part of a larger region or continent and is usually based on location. Cardinal directions, such as south are commonly used to define a subregion. United Nations subregions The Statistics Division of the United Nations (UN) ...

. Kalongo is located approximately , by road, northeast of

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

, the

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

of Uganda and the largest city in that country. The geographical coordinates of Kalongo Hospital are: 03°02'41.0"N, 33°22'21.0"E (Latitude:3.044722; Longitude:33.372500).

Overview

Kalongo Hospital is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

community hospital A community hospital can be purely a nominal designation or have a more specific meaning. When specific, it refers to a hospital that is accessible to the general public, and provides a general or specific medical care which is usually short-term, i ...

owned by the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gulu The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gulu ( la, Guluen(sis)) is the Metropolitan See for the Ecclesiastical province of Gulu in Uganda. History * 1923.06.12: Established as Apostolic Prefecture of Nilo Equatoriale from the Apostolic Vicariate of ...

, and is accredited by the Uganda Catholic Medical Bureau. It is administered by the Sisters of Mary Immaculate. The hospital was started in a grass-hut by Sister Eletta Mantiero, a Comboni Missionary Sister, as a

dispensary A dispensary is an office in a school, hospital, industrial plant, or other organization that dispenses medications, medical supplies, and in some cases even medical and dental treatment. In a traditional dispensary set-up, a pharmacist dispen ...

in 1934. It soon started delivering babies and attending to medical and pediatric patients. In 1957, Dr. Fr. Giuseppe Ambrosoli, an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

and

catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

, began the transformation of the dispensary into a full-fledged hospital. At that time the dispensary was treating many

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...

patients. Dr. Ambrosoli revolutionalised the care for leprosy patients, by admitting them to the same hospital as other patients, instead of confining them to a

leprosarium A leper colony, also known by many other names, is an isolated community for the quarantining and treatment of lepers, people suffering from leprosy. '' M. leprae'', the bacterium responsible for leprosy, is believed to have spread from East Af ...

. At that time, leprosaria were generally badly managed and led to patient neglect, especially in

Tropical Africa Although tropical Africa is mostly familiar to the West for its rainforests, this biogeographic realm of Africa is far more diverse. While the tropics are thought of as regions with hot moist climates, which are caused by latitude and the tropi ...

. Today, the hospital is a 350-bed facility, that admits patients in the disciplines of Internal Medicine,

General Surgery General surgery is a surgical specialty that focuses on alimentary canal and abdominal contents including the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, appendix and bile ducts, and often the thyroid ...

Pediatrics Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until th ...

and

Obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

Gynecology Gynaecology or gynecology (see spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined are ...

. , Kalongo Hospital employed over 300 staff members. The hospital has been renamed

Dr. Ambrosoli Memorial Hospital Kalongo Hospital, also known as Dr. Ambrosoli Memorial Hospital, is a hospital in Northern Uganda. It is a private, community hospital, serving the town of Kalongo and surrounding areas of Agago District, Pader District and parts of Kitgum Dis ...

, after its founder. As of October 2020, it averages 26,012 annual outpatients visits, with 11,796 annual inpatient admissions. Annual maternal deliveries average 2,665, with a caesarian rate of 15.3 percent. The hospital operates on income derived from patient fees, donations and annual government subsidies. However, no patient is turned away because of inability to pay. On average, patient fees account for approximately 9.8 percent of total hospital annual income and the Government subsidy accounts for about 18.4 percent of annual hospital income. In 1959 Dr. Fr. Giuseppe Ambrosolio established ''St. Mary's School of Midwifery'', with a view of someday in the future handing over the care of the patients to local Ugandan staff. , the school had a student body of about 120. The school is closely affiliated with the hospital.

References

External links

Official Website
{{Agago District Hospitals in Uganda Agago District Acholi sub-region Northern Region, Uganda Hospitals established in 1934 1934 establishments in Uganda Catholic hospitals in Africa

Location

Overview

See also

References

External links