Mission statement: Mission statement: Mission statement:

The Sonja Kill Memorial Hospital is a charity hospital built with The Sonja Kill Memorial Hospital is a charity hospital built with The Sonja Kill Memorial Hospital is a charity hospital built with
the vision to improve the health situation of Cambodians, the vision to improve the health situation of Cambodians, the vision to improve the health situation of Cambodians,
especially children and mothers, regardless of their ability to pay. especially children and mothers, regardless of their ability to pay. especially children and mothers, regardless of their ability to pay.
Phone: +855 77 666 752
Email:
Website: www.skmh.org
Kep Thmei Village, Boeung Touk Commune
Toeuk Chhue District, P.O. Box 0705
Kampot, Kingdom of Cambodia
Annual Report 2013
Page 1

FROM THE DIRECTOR FROM THE DIRECTOR FROM THE DIRECTOR







Despite progress in the last few years, Cambodia has still some of the
worst health indicators in Southeast Asia. The under-five mortality of
40/1,000 life births is three times higher than in Thailand. The
probability of dying for women between 15 and 60 years is 161 per
1,000 population (Thailand 90 per 1,000).
There is growing evidence that malnutrition in early childhood causes lasting
health damages and reduces the physical and mental capabilities of a
population. The human body never fully recovers after prolonged starvation
such as survivors of the Killing Fields and their children have faced between
1970 and 1985. As a result, Cambodia faces the double burden of infectious
diseases and chronic diseases such as Diabetes mellitus, hypertension,
cardiovascular diseases and chronic degenerative diseases.
The health of many Cambodians is severely impacted by their traumatic experiences. According to
studies, around 50% to 60% of the Cambodians who have survived the Khmer Rouge time suffer
from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or depression. Many families are broken, destroyed by
domestic violence, alcohol abuse and poverty, and children grow up in a dysfunctional environment.
Patients suffer from chronic pain syndromes, fatigue and sleeping disorder. The medical schools and
the nursing schools do not deliver thorough teaching in mental health. Thus, patients travel from clinic
to clinic and seek help for their health problems. Although they undergo
many diagnostic tests and receive different medications for their symptoms,
their underlying mental health problem is neither recognized nor dealt with.
Patients are left destitute and in despair. There is a tremendous need for
comprehensive primary health care that focuses not only on physical
conditions and symptoms but helps patients and families in a holistic way.
This is what we are doing at Sonja Kill Memorial Hospital.
The Sonja Kill Memorial Hospital is committed to deliver compassionate care and train
Cambodian doctors and nurses to have the heart, knowledge and skills to address the deep
needs of their patients and help restore families.
It is easier to build It is easier to build It is easier to build
strong children than to strong children than to strong children than to
repair broken men. repair broken men. repair broken men.
Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass
Probability of dying between 15 and 60 years m/f (per
1 000 population, 2012)
212/161
Pill burden
ROOTS OF THE CAMBODIAN HEALTH CRISIS ROOTS OF THE CAMBODIAN HEALTH CRISIS ROOTS OF THE CAMBODIAN HEALTH CRISIS
2013 was a jump start into the second phase of the hospital. We suddenly had to
deal with many children and adults in critical condition when we opened the in-
patient wards and the emergency department 24 hours/7 days. This year has
proven how much the Sonja Kill Memorial Hospital is needed in South Cambo-
dia. However, it saddened me to see many children and adults referred out be-
cause we did not have a blood bank, intensive care or a surgical department
open yet. Many women ask when we will provide obstetric services and take
care of difficult pregnancies and deliveries. 2014 will be a year of great develop-
ment. I am confident that we will succeed thanks to our dedicated staff. Their
smiles are contagious, and many patients feel better already when they see a
friendly face. After less than two years, the hospital has become a place where
sick patients with difficult health conditions find hope and receive good care.
FROM THE DIRECTOR FROM THE DIRECTOR FROM THE DIRECTOR
Dr. Cornelia Hner
MD, MScPH
Page 2 of 4



PROGRESS PROGRESS PROGRESS
Opening Inpatient Wards-April 8, 2013
The Sonja Kill Memorial Hospital celebrated the long
awaited opening of the inpatient wards with 19 beds
for children and adults.
His Excellency Soht Yea, Vice-Governor of the
Kampot Province presided over the ceremony.
Community Outreach-April 7, 2013
We distributed bicycles to 75 children from poor
families in partnership with the Singapore-based
organization Wheels for HOPE and provided road
safety education. The donation of bicycles enables
children to go to school.
24-hour services
With the opening of the inpatient wards, we started 24-hour
services in the emergency department. 75 % of the children
admitted suffered from pneumonia, gastroenteritis or Dengue
fever, the three main causes of death in children < 5 year.
Health Checks and Health Education
1,455 children received free health checks. We used
this opportunity to teach the parents concerning age-
appropriate nutrition, dental health and vaccinations
needed. Many of the underweight children increased
weight thanks to the teaching.
Training
We provided training to 11 doctors and 26 nurses.
Many volunteers assisted in the training, including
two doctors with Cambodian roots, the pediatrician
Laurent Yi Vichet from Belgium and Thearith Seng
from the United States.
Capacity Building
We started our collaboration with the Kampot Re-
gional Training Center for Nurses and Midwives and
trained 28 students. In addition, 18 student and two
teachers attended a workshop for pelvic floor exer-
cises for pregnant women.
Education is the most powerful weapon Education is the most powerful weapon Education is the most powerful weapon
that can change the world. that can change the world. that can change the world.
Page 3 of 4

PATIENT IMPACT PATIENT IMPACT PATIENT IMPACT


Set Serts mother was worried when she sat next to her 15-year old teenage boy bleeding
from his bowel during the 30-kilometer ambulance ride from the Kep Referral Hospital to
the Sonja Kill Memorial Hospital. She did not know where to go with her critically-ill
child when the doctors at the referral hospital told her that they were not able to help him.
She trusted a seller at the market who pointed her to the Sonja Kill Memorial Hospital.
When the ambulance arrived at our emergency department, the staff rushed to help him.
He had developed shock due to bleeding and bowel infec-
tion. IV fluids and antibiotics stabilized him just a little bit
but he needed blood, something the hospital cannot pro-
vide yet. The Kampot Referral Hospital agreed to give
three units of blood over three days, and life returned into
his previously pale face after the blood transfusions.
The mother smiled: I am very happy and grateful for the
staff here. They have worked very fast to help my youngest
child and are very friendly. Now my child has improved,
and we pay very little. I am very happy to be here.
Can This Hospital Help My Youngest Son?
A very dedicated staff worked as a team to save this young mans life. The Sonja Kill
Memorial Hospital has become a beacon of hope for patients and families in South
Cambodia.

26-year old Mr. Keo came to us with severe depression. He and his wife had just experienced the birth
of their first child who was now 3 months old. Even though he loved his new baby, he was over-
whelmed by the new responsibility. He became violent to the point of threatening to harm his baby
and his wife. When his mother heard about the Sonja Kill Memorial Hospital, she travelled more than
40 kilometers to bring her son for treatment. Our new Chief Op-
erational Officer Dr. Jan Osborne, US board-certified psychiatrist
assisted our young doctors in assessing and treating this patient
with anti-depressive medication. After four weeks of medication,
Mr. Keo felt strong enough to help on the farm every day and
take care of his family.
Dr. Jan Osborne shares: I realize more every day how enormous,
devastating and far reaching the consequences of the Khmer Rouge regime are. As the song says,
The vision that was planted in my brain still remains, within the sound of silence, the experiences
of atrocities resound in the minds of the Cambodian people many years later. Mental illness is not
well understood or recognized in Cambodia by the population in general. Individuals with psychosis
are sometimes caged or chained within their homes or treated by doctors not experienced with mental
health. Patients often sell all their belongings, but do not improve and remain hopeless.
From Despair to Hope-A Family Restored
Page 4 of 4

STATISTICS STATISTICS STATISTICS





THANK YOU TO OUR DONORS THANK YOU TO OUR DONORS THANK YOU TO OUR DONORS
Financial Donors
Kindermissionswerk Die Sternsinger, Germany
BILD hilft e.V. Ein Herz fuer Kinder, Germany
Sonja Kill Foundation, Germany
HOPE worldwide, USA
HOPE worldwide Zurich, Switzerland
International Church of Christ, Munich, Germany
Kevin and Nanshil Grady
Jeffrey and Janet Jones
Heidi Perez
Edison International Employee Contributions Campaign,
Teresa Escobar
PECO Foundation, Dr. Peter Curran



Donors of equipment and supplies
AmeriCares, USA
Direct Relief International, USA
Aesculap AG, Germany
Dr. Wolfgang Probst, Germany
Dr. Bernhard Rinderknecht, Switzerland
Interbroc Hilfswerk, Switzerland

Partners
Sonja Kill Foundation, Cambodia
Ministry of Health, Cambodia
Sihanouk Hospital Center of HOPE, Cambodia
National Blood Transfusion Center, Cambodia
Kampot Regional Training Center for Nurses and
Midwives


66%
24%
4%
1% 1% 2% 2%
FirstTimePatients2013byProvince
Kampot
Sihanoukville
KrongKep
KohKong
Takeo
PhnomPenh
Other