Expanding Reach, Deepening Roots: Our Global Health Team Returns to The Gambia
Two anesthetists from Basse boarded a bus in the early morning hours and rode two hours westward across The Gambia — not for a surgery, not for an emergency, but for the chance to learn alongside visiting faculty from the University of Utah.
That moment, perhaps more than any other, captures what this partnership is about.
Fresh off their presentations at the World Congress of Anaesthesiologists (WCA) 2026 in Marrakech, Morocco, a team from the University of Utah Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative & Pain Medicine spent eight days traveling across The Gambia — visiting six public hospitals, teaching, checking in on equipment, and continuing to build the relationships that make this work last. Faculty Drs. Candace Chang, Scott Junkins, and Arran Seiler, regional anesthesia and acute pain medicine fellow Dr. Sierra Mastrantonio, and residents Drs. Jenny Connell and Kelli Scheinman made the trip, driven by a purpose that has guided every visit: education and connection — protected time and space to have conversations, learn, discuss what is and isn't going well, and help each other.
Into the Interior
While previous visits focused primarily on hospitals in and around the capital, this trip made a point of reaching further. Rural hospitals and the clinicians who staff them are just as central to this partnership as those in Banjul — and the team was determined to show up for all of them.
That meant a road trip deep into the country with Anaesthetists' Society of The Gambia (ASOGAM) President Omar Cham. Three hours from the capital, the team arrived at Farafenni General Hospital, where they taught capnography, signed a formal data agreement, and loaned a Glidescope Go video laryngoscope to a facility that had never had access to one before. It was a milestone moment — and the beginning of a formal collaboration with plans to return.
Then came Bansang General Hospital — seven hours from Serrekunda, deep in the eastern interior. The team spent the night on campus, taught the next morning, toured the facility, and connected with local anesthetists before making the long drive back.
Along the way, they passed the ancient Wasu stone circles — a quiet reminder of the deep history of this country.
Dr. Sierra Mastrantonio reflected on the importance of pairing equipment with education. "Tools are useless without appropriate training. As part of our longstanding collaborative relationship with the hospitals and anesthesia school in The Gambia, we facilitated hands-on training in ultrasound use and capnography — both newly emerging technologies in the region. Without education to go along with the equipment, these tools fall to disuse. With it, providers can broaden their skills, improve procedural accuracy, and most importantly, improve patient safety. Every visit, we learn just as much from our Gambian colleagues as they do from us."
A Country on the Move
At the hospitals closer to the capital, the team found familiar faces and new progress. At Kanifing General Hospital and Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital (EFSTH), nurse anesthetists gathered around Lifebox capnographs and C-Mac video laryngoscopes — equipment the department fundraised to purchase and loan in 2025 — and demonstrated the confidence that comes with having the right tools and the training to use them.
And then there was Bwiam General Hospital. When the team last visited in January 2025, it was a facility with potential. This time, they walked into brand new operating theatres, a completely transformed facility, and nurse anesthetists energized by a full schedule of elective surgeries. A healthcare system quietly, steadily growing stronger.
Dr. Kelli Scheinman captured the spirit of what the team encountered throughout the trip: "My time in The Gambia was both humbling and inspiring. Meeting local CRNAs and anesthesia providers and sharing knowledge through medical education was an invaluable opportunity to contribute to sustainable healthcare through teaching and mentorship. The experience challenged me to grow as an educator, physician, and person, while highlighting the resilience, dedication, and ingenuity of the healthcare professionals I had the privilege to learn from and teach alongside."
Building Something That Lasts
Beyond teaching and equipment, this trip laid important groundwork for the future. Data agreements were signed with three hospitals — with a fourth nearly finalized — opening the door to collaborative research generated from within The Gambia itself. The team provided Dr. Sabina Kangakan with a Glidescope Go with pediatric blades to support her proposed study on video laryngoscopy for infants, and began exploring a peripartum complications study at EFSTH.
The dream of a high-fidelity anesthesia simulation center at American International University West Africa (AIUWA) also moved closer to reality. Gambian anesthetists have been clear about what they need: a place to practice emergencies, to rehearse the moments that matter most before they happen. The University of Utah team has formally requested that AIUWA reserve a permanent home for such a center — and the work of equipping it has begun.
The 2026 Gambian National Anesthesia Review Course is already on the calendar for September, with hopes that the 2027 course could incorporate hands-on simulation for the very first time.
Resident Dr. Jenny Connell reflected on what the visit meant beyond the clinical work:
"One of the most valuable parts of our time in The Gambia was the chance to strengthen relationships and collaborate face-to-face. It gave us opportunities to identify previously unknown needs and opportunities for collaboration that are based on local priorities. The relationships I built in my short time there allow me to continue this work in a more meaningful way even now that I've returned to Utah."
Two anesthetists riding two hours by bus to learn something new. A team flying from Morocco to The Gambia on the tail end of an international conference. A hospital transformed almost beyond recognition. These are not isolated moments — they are the story of a partnership built on showing up, again and again, for each other.