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Bethesda Mission Hospital

For more than thirty years of its existence in West Borneo, God has been working through Bethesda Health Ministries to bring many people to salvation in Jesus Christ. This only could have happened through the many partnerships that God has brought about with churches, individuals, government agencies and NGO’s to be involved in many different ways in this ministry.

The work is not yet finished; there are still many people in the remote parts of West Borneo, in other parts of Indonesia, and even in the world who have not yet had the opportunity to hear of Jesus’ redeeming love. God is calling people who are willing to give themselves and be a part of this kingdom work.

There are four areas of service included under the umbrella of Bethesda Health Ministries.

History:
Wendell and Marge Geary with CBI founded Bethesda Hospital in 1965. It started as a small clinic in Bamboo River Village. Here it served the Dyak tribal people of the West Kalimantan (Borneo) rainforest. Then in 1974, it moved to its present location in Serukam, where a full hospital was constructed with its own water and power supply. Today, an independent board, Indonesian Bethesda Foundation of Kalimantan, along with the help of WorldVenture, runs the hospital. With 125 beds, the hospital admits and cares for an average of 5000 inpatients a year. In addition, the outpatient department is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and treats an average of 25,000 patients a year. The hospital employs five full-time evangelists and averages 50 first-time decisions for Christ per month. Most hospital staff are native Indonesians. There are nearly 350 people employed by Bethesda hospital and over 100 are general duty nurses. Also working at the hospital are two American doctors and one American nurse as well as several Americans in support roles. In addition, Bethesda Foundation has a Nursing Academy. The Academy currently has three classes of 40-50 students each enrolled. These students study theory and do practicum at the hospital. Some will graduate and work in the hospital, other will work in other hospitals throughout Indonesia, and some will return to their villages and provide health care there. Bethesda Foundation also has a Community Health Outreach program called PKMD. PKMD serves over 70 hamlets scattered in remote areas of the rainforest where government service is scarce to nonexistent. Working with the New Tribes Flight Program, four satellite clinics have been established to serve the Dyak tribal people.
Location:
Indonesia, Asia

 Ministry