Meet Mathias Mugabe
2019 Erin’s Campaign for Kids Nursing Award Winner: International Pediatric Nurse Category
The Erin’s Campaign for Kids Nursing award in the category of International Pediatric Nurse is awarded this year to Mathias Mugabe, a nurse at Holy Innocents Children’s Hospital in Mbarara, Uganda.
Mathias is responsible for infection prevention and infection control at the hospital. He works as the coordinator, responsible for bringing together committee members to work on activities on sepsis prevention, identification, and management.
As an admitting nurse, he triages patients with sepsis. “Patients with sepsis are easily identified and managed properly according to the severity of their illness following the hospital triage system; green indicating stable patients, yellow for sick patients and red for very sick patients,” Mathias wrote in his application. “Through this system patients with sepsis are easily managed. Daily re-assessment of children with sepsis. As nurses, we assess patients with sepsis regularly and keep updated about their progress and inform the doctor about any changes that happen to the patients.”
Another important role for Mathias is educating mothers with children who have sepsis. “We emphasize more on proper hygiene and how they can improve community sanitation after leaving the hospital so that they can reduce the spread of infections/sepsis,” he wrote.
According to Mathias, neonatal mortality of children in Uganda is 20.2 deaths per 1,000 live births. The deaths are largely caused by microbial infection and sepsis.
He wrote:
As a nurse working at a Children’s Hospital in Uganda, I continue to see the deadly effects of sepsis on patients and the community.
Therefore, I am applying for the Award to:
- Reduce the high incidence and mortality rates of sepsis among children in Uganda and improve the care and lives of patients with sepsis. In order to achieve these advances, I wish to undertake additional roles in the hospital related to infection control and antimicrobial stewardship.
- To ensure that appropriate sepsis and control messages are available in practice.
- To promote appropriate vaccination of staff and patients, particularly vulnerable groups.
- To promote and audit antimicrobial safeguards against resistance and adverse effects from those not required medications.
- To improve on the time taken for a patient to be seen by the doctor, and to get their treatment within the shortest time, and to assist in identifying emergencies and non-emergency conditions among the patients.
Mathias not only works in the hospital to meet his goals, but in the community as well. Using various outreach programs, Mathias and other healthcare professionals encourage mothers to attend antenatal care clinics regularly, deliver in health facilities, and teach them about the importance of personal hygiene for themselves and their babies. “Through these community outreaches, we have seen a reduction in mothers delivering from homes which has reduced the risk of newborns getting sepsis since they are being attended by qualified health workers in a sterile environment within the hospital.”
Mathias would like to use the award to go back to school to further his education. With a diploma, he would be able to make a bigger impact in the hospital and he would be more respected among his peers. “I would be able to take more serious cases at the hospital and could act as an even greater leader on sepsis. This award would make a huge impact in my life as well as in my ability to respond to the needs of very sick children in my community and hospital at large.”
To meet the rest of the nursing award recipients, click here.
