Wolters Kluwer supports second Mercy Ships floating hospital to enhance use of evidence-based medicine

New Delhi: Wolters Kluwer, Health announced today that it has donated three market-leading clinical decision support (CDS) tools including UpToDate®, Lexicomp®, and Lippincott Procedures® to Mercy Ships, a global humanitarian organization that operates two floating hospitals serving underprivileged  populations.

The donated software will support doctors, nurses, and clinical staff working on the Africa Mercy®, and the newer, recently launched ship, the Global Mercy®. With these donations, clinicians aboard both ships will have essential CDS resources to aid them in providing the best care to vulnerable patients in remote areas of Africa.

Training clinicians and providing life-saving procedures

The two-part goal of the new Global Mercy is not only to treat patients as a state-of-the-art hospital, but also to help train clinicians in a part of the world where the latest clinical training and evidence can be hard to find. Over the 50 years of the Global Mercy’s lifespan, Mercy Ships is predicting that more than 150,000 patients will receive surgery alone. In addition to treatment, thousands of African healthcare workers will receive training, mentoring, and access to critical decision support tools to then change lives positively in their communities.

After two weeks of festivities in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, the Global Mercy sailed to Dakar, Senegal in June 2022.   There, H.E. President of Senegal, Macky Sall hosted inaugural events to welcome the new ship, alongside the Africa Mercy which had been operating in Dakar since February. As the largest civilian hospital ship, the vessel has six operating rooms, a laboratory, general outpatient clinics, dental, and eye clinics and has space for 200 patients in a floating hospital 174 meters long and 28.6 meters wide. The hospital decks cover a total area of 7,000 square meters and contain the latest training facilities. When in full service, the ship will be able to accommodate up to 950 people when docked, including crewmembers and volunteers from all over the world. The Global Mercy joins the Africa Mercy, which has had a dramatic impact on patients and staff through access to the same trusted CDS resources provided by Wolters Kluwer since 2018.

Gert van de Weerdhof, Mercy Ships Chief Executive Officer, stated, “The Global Mercy is the result of many years of planning, preparation and partnerships with companies like Wolters Kluwer that share our aim to accelerate access to safe and free surgery, and multiply the impact of better care by training African medical professionals.”

Delivering the Best Care Everywhere  

With UpToDate, Lexicomp, and Lippincott Procedures apps installed on the ships’ tablets, clinicians on board will be able to access the most recent medical research and evidence-based recommendations, comprehensive drug information, and step-by-step guidance on nursing procedures critically needed to treat patients.

“As a mission-driven organization, we know the tremendous impact on health outcomes that will be made possible by doubling our support of tools used on the Mercy Ships fleet,” said Stacey Caywood, Chief Executive Officer, at Wolters Kluwer, Health. “Our mission is to advance the best care everywhere through trusted, evidence-based medicine and overcoming inequities or limited access to care that often stand in the way. We’re honored to support Mercy Ships’ clinicians who are volunteering life-saving procedures to some of the world’s most vulnerable populations.”