When the Baptist Medical Centre opened its doors in Nalerigu, Ghana, in 1958, the facility was designed to serve 500 patients a year. Six decades later, population growth in this rural district pushed the 176-bed center to a breaking point, with doctors struggling to provide adequate care for 70,000 patients annually. Severe overcrowding contributed to unsanitary conditions, equipment failures, and potentially fatal patient infections.

Today, as a direct result of a $1.6 million grant from the Helmsley Charitable Trust, the Baptist Medical Centre is one of the premier healthcare facilities in Northern Ghana. Helmsley funding was used to construct inpatient wards, to acquire an ambulance for emergency transport, and to procure critically needed, modern equipment that expands access to life-saving medical treatment options, including glucometers, incubators, infusion pumps, scales, oxygen, operating lamps, x-ray equipment, and a new laboratory facility.

Watch this short film about Helmsley’s ongoing commitment to improve access to quality care for communities that are facing significant health challenges in sub-Saharan Africa.