June 30, 2025
For nearly a year, the Axum committee has been working with Project C.U.R.E to test the feasibility of sending an assessor to visit Aksum University Comprehensive Hospital and Kidiste Mariam/St. Mary's hospital to determine needs of each hospital and match them with supplies and equipment from Project C.U.R.E. Project C.U.R.E., headquartered in Centennial, CO with warehouses nationwide, gathers usable hospital equipment and supplies from hospitals and ships them to hospitals and clinics in need worldwide. Each container is valued between $300,000 to $400,000. An assessment and a site visit are required by Project C.U.R.E. to send biomedical equipment.
Dr. Tewodros Haile, Denver Health and formerly Aksum University Comprehensive Hospital, and Janet Lee and Senaye Gebremichael, co-chairs of the Axum Committee, met with Project C.U.R.E.’s assessor, Jake Sullivan, on May 28. They were beyond excited! Normally, assessors from Project C.U.R.E. examine up to five sites in a visit, but because of increased tensions and an untimely ban on tourist travel to Tigrai for a few weeks, he was limited by Project C.U.R.E. to visit the two hospitals in Axum during an overnight visit.
After an exhausting multi-day trip, Jake made it safely to Axum and visited both AKU CHS and Comprehensive Hospital and Kidiste Mariam/St. Mary’s hospital. Accommodations, security, and local travel were arranged by Aksum University Comprehensive Hospital.
The Axum-Denver Sister City committee in Axum and the Vice-Mayor of Axum met with Jake after a whirlwind visit to both hospitals. We appreciate both the committee and the Vice-Mayor taking time out of their busy schedules to display the welcoming hospitality well known in Axum.
Did you know? (From the assessor’s report)
Aksum University, College of Health Science and Comprehensive Specialized Hospital opened in 2015. It is staffed with 76 doctors, 7 surgeons, 300 nurses, 51 midwives, 1 biomedical technician, 28 laboratory technicians, 1 anesthesiologist, 10 nurse /anesthetists, 2 dentists, 3 community health workers, 2 radiologists, 2 pathologists, 8 internists, 5 dermatologists, 5 ophthalmologists, and 1 surgeon aid.
Kidiste Mariam/St. Mary’s hospital is a one-story building with 155 bed that opened in 1964 and was built to serve 20,000 people and now serves 2.5 million. The facility is staffed with 11 doctors, 1 surgeon, 159 nurses, 32 midwives, 2 biomedical technicians, 19 laboratory technicians, 3 anesthesiologists, 2 dentists, 1 dermatologist, 2 ophthalmologists, 1 cataract surgeon, and 1 psychiatrist.
The assessor praised the staff of the hospitals stating, “Both hospitals had staff that had been there for substantial amounts of time, indicating low turnover and proper management.” Furthermore, “Both chief medical directors are highly knowledgeable of their hospitals and have a history of serving the community.”
His assessment confirmed the DSCI committee’s commitment to working with Project C.U.R.E. in shipping at least one container of medical supplies and biomedical equipment to these two hospitals in Axum and supporting the extraordinary efforts of both hospitals’ medical personnel.