TLC in the News: The Washington Post

Harry and Echo VanderWal visit Eswatini (then Swaziland), witnessing for the first time the devastation of the HIV/AIDS crisis.

The Luke Commission is founded, pairing the name of the gospel writer, Luke, with The Great Commission. “TLC” for short. Tender. Loving. Care.

The VanderWals move to Eswatini with their four small children, occupying a small house in Manzini. This will be their home and TLC’s center of operations for the next seven years.

Free, mobile outreach efforts begin. A person-centered care approach delivers comprehensive, compassionate healthcare. As a result, HIV stigma is reduced and patients are engaged, empowering care for the conditions that matter most to them.

TLC acquires land for a centrally-located permanent base of operations near Sidvokodvo, Eswatini. Funds are miraculously raised in just 17 days. By the end of the year, the Miracle Campus is opened.

TLC launches the CARES (Comprehensive and Restorative Eye Services) program, together with visiting specialists.

The Miracle Campus is expanded to 160 acres, now with access to the country’s largest river.

TLC’s 10-week onboarding program, “Base Camp” is launched. The program introduces new hires to TLC’s values, culture, and operational model, all centered on patient-centered care and servanthood

TLC and partners open the Matsapha Mobile Clinic (MMC), a full-service, semi-permanent outreach site located in the heart of the Matsapha industrial district.

TLC’s digital revolution begins, with the launch of its Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system.

Inexplicably, the TLC team feels pressure to accelerate construction of major building projects, unaware that these structures will be at full capacity in the coming months.

The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic begins in Eswatini. TLC implements a response plan.

Shipping containers full of dehydrated food and critically-needed supplies arrive.

A 120-bed inpatient facility opens on the Miracle Campus, including 30 private rooms for TB and COVID-19 patients.

The Speciality Care & Surgical Center opens on the Miracle Campus, offering 42 health services, an emergency/casualty unit, three operating rooms, and X-ray/ultrasound rooms.

An Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is opened in the inpatient ward, caring for patients with advanced HIV/TB, COVID-19, snake bites, and other critical health needs.

TLC becomes a DREAMS partner, serving adolescent girls and young women (AGYW)

Eswatini runs out of oxygen during the second wave of COVID-19. The TLC team commits to oxygen independence from South Africa before the third wave.

TLC pays the deposit for construction of a 2500LPM oxygen plant on the Miracle Campus, the first of its kind in Eswatini and the largest of its kind in Africa.

The oxygen plant begins producing oxygen. TLC’s in-house construction team has managed to build the structure in 52 days.

The third wave of COVID-19 begins, and civil unrest breaks out in the country. For two weeks, TLC is the sole provider of oxygen in Eswatini.

Peak admissions during the 3rd wave surge include 138 COVID-19 patients, 91 patients in ICU, and 55 patients on ventilators. Peak 02 consumption reaches 3300LPM, which is supplemented by new 33-tonne bulk liquid O2 tank. No patient requiring oxygen goes without it.

At the request of the Ministry of Health, TLC rapidly scales up and deploys the digital data capture system (ESWAVAX) for the national vaccination effort, tracking 846,519 doses.

The Training and Leadership Center of Excellence opens on the Miracle Campus, boasting flexible training areas, counseling rooms, and a large auditorium seating up to 1,000.

His Majesty King Mswati III officially opens TLC’s Miracle Campus Hospital, oxygen plant, and Training and Leadership Center of Excellence.

TLC unveils its containerized telehealth solution during a visit from USAID.

TLC officially launches Eswatini’s first national drone network, providing rapid, two-way delivery for commodities, medications, blood products, vaccines, lab samples, and more throughout the nation.

For the first year in Eswatini’s history, there have been no snakebite deaths. TLC’s Snakebite Center of Excellence has treated a over 400 snakebite victims.