AAH is a 100-bed facility staffed by two island physicians. A nursing school is associated with the hospital. Approximately 20,000 outpatients and 2,000 inpatients are cared for annually at the hospital. The island has a large inland population of approximately 15,000 individuals. Many Malaitians still worship ancestral spirits.
All transportation is by boat or plane.
The team was involved directly in patient care in the clinics, emergency room, operating room, and inpatient wards as well as taking small boats up inland rivers to work at bush clinics. Classroom lectures were conducted regularly. Each team member and their luggage, which included many boxes of donated medicines and supplies, were weighed before the small plane could take off. Some personal items such as clothing had to be left behind for a day so as not to overload the plane. She presented with abdominal swelling.