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ISSUE NO. 39 • September 26, 2024 • RutherfordWeekly.com • 828-248-1408
TLC brings free healthcare to the unserved in Africa Chief Medical Doctor grew up in Rutherfordton By Jean Gordon. Photos Contributed. Dr. Harry (Tiger) VanderWal, who grew up in Rutherfordton and graduated from R-S Central, and his wife Echo VanderWal, a physician’s assistant, knew at an early age they would go to Africa to practice medicine. Perhaps never in their wildest dreams or prayers could they have imagined what their work would be today. They are sharing their remarkable story this week in Rutherford County telling of their journey from the United States to Eswatini, a country of 1.3 million in Southern Africa with the highest prevalence of HIV globally at 27 percent. The couple has seven children (including triplets) and one grandchild. All all of them reside full time in Eswatini. They are all together right now in the United States - their first visit back to their homes in a decade. Echo, who grew up in Idaho, said she never dreamed their grown children would remain with them serving in Africa. In 2005, the couple founded The Luke Commission (TLC) named after the doctor who authored the Gospel of Luke in the Bible. TLC is a Non-Government Organization (NGO) that focuses on health and development in response to the HIV epidemic in Eswatini. Harry is TLC’s Chief Medical Director and Echo is a physician’s assistant and executive director of TLC. TLC brings compassionate, comprehensive healthcare to underserved patients, hosting over 300,000 patient visits annually. All care is provided for free to the patient. “From an early age, we had both felt a call to healthcare in Africa,” Harry began. “When a friend told us about the medical needs in Eswatini, we knew right away that we needed to respond.” From an initial team comprising the VanderWals and a local team of eight, TLC’s staff has now grown to over 700 staff. “The growth has been amazing. We found a compassionate approach to healthcare resonates across all walks of life and in every village, city, and region in the country,” Dr. VanderWal said. TLC’s compassionate approach starts with the way new team members are welcomed to the organization. Before staff are deployed to the field, they first learn the unique culture of TLC.
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Harry and Echo VanderWal with a patient at the clinic.
“For us, every patient is a VIP- a Very Important Patient,” said Echo. “From day one, we train our staff to treat every last one just as they would their own family member.” Echo said this focus on compassionate care has allowed the team to stay focused through the epidemics of HIV and, more recently, COVID-19. During COVID-19, TLC cared for over 90 percent of Eswatini’s severe and critically ill COVID-19 patients— over 1,700 patients total.
“The staff served with grit and heart throughout the COVID pandemic,” said Harry. “Every person was laserfocused on serving the patients—we didn’t have a single HR issue during COVID.” To meet the massive need for oxygen during COVID-19, TLC took out its first-ever loan to build a 2500 litersper-minute oxygen production plant, the largest of its type in Africa. “We believe that every problem has a solution,” Harry said. “So when the country was running out of oxygen during the second wave, we knew we had to do something.” TLC’s oxygen production went into operation just weeks before the third wave, and is credited with cutting the COVID-19 fatality rate in Eswatini by more than 50 percent in the third wave. In addition to the oxygen production plant, TLC innovates for health and development through technology and logistics. TLC recently scaled up a drone delivery network that cuts transport time of critically-needed supplies—such as snakebite antivenom-by up to 80 percent. This program is being led by Harry and Echo’s oldest son, Luke. August 31 marked the end of the snakebite season in Eswatini, and TLC reported that, in collaboration with the Eswatini Antivenom Foundation, Instituto Clodomiro Picado (ICP), and healthcare providers across the entire nation, TLC successfully admitted 420 snakebite patients with zero deaths. “This is the pinnacle of collaboration and teamwork,” said a TLC team member. Each team member worked tirelessly to treat every snakebite patient as a family. Members, providing round-theclock emergency care to administering life-saving anti-venom, following strict treatment protocols, and offering ICU care, their compassion and expertise ensured the best possible outcomes. Only a few years ago, reported TLC, every Black Mamba bite was 100 percent fatal. This past summer the Eswatini Antivenom Foundation removed more than 450 Black Mambas. “Many lives and limbs are now being saved because we haven’t allowed any obstacle to get in our way. Teamwork is Dreamwork,” said TLC.
Harry and Echo with patients after eye surgeries.
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