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Advancing patient-centered care in rural Africa. Patient names are changed, explicit consent granted. Dr. Artress is an American physician. Kilimanjaro.

The Foundation for African Medicine & Education is a non-profit corporation registered in the United States. It was created to improve the quality of medical care in East Africa. FAME endeavors to help bridge the gap between a critically under-resourced healthcare system and first-world medicine. FAME is currently focused on improving the quality and accessibility of medical care in Tanzania and making a difference in the day-to-day lives of the Tanzanian people. He has traveled extensively and participated in medical relief projects around the globe. His wife, Susan, is trained in counseling and educational psychology and has worked for many years in school-based mental health and prevention. Frank and Susan have lived and worked in Tanzania since 2003and currently reside in Karatu, Tanzania. They coordinate and oversee the day-to-day operations of all FAME projects. Certain places on the planet can capture a person's heart and alter the direction of one's life. For us, Tanzania is such a place. At the start of the new millenium we found ourselves at a crossroads and began to experience a shift in how we wanted to spend the second half of our lives. For years, we had talked about climbing Mt. Finally in July of 2002, we began our ascent of the highest peak in Africa. At the time, we could not have known Frank would nearly die atop that mountain, nor how those critical moments would shape the rest of our lives. The perseverance, generosity, and resourcefulness of our guide and his crew awakened us to the resilience of the human spirit - that place inside each of us where grace and strength reside. After several months back in the U.S., we decided to return to Tanzania, this time to contribute back to a people whose voice is rarely heard in the rest of the world, a people who have few opportunities to share their wisdom, their strength, and their dreams with the rest of us. From this place, the Foundation for African Medicine and Education was born. Board of Directors

Frank Artress, Co-Founder & President
Susan Gustafson, Co-Founder & Vice-President
Jeanne Artress, Secretary/Treasurer
Graham Pierce, Director
Jack Paddon, Director
Nancy Paddon, Director

10/13/2026

Celebrating Five Years of Leadership at FAME

After five remarkable years as FAME’s Managing Director, Rose Tobiassen is moving on to the next chapter in her career. Her leadership has helped strengthen FAME’s fundraising, deepen relationships with donors and partners, and build a strong U.S. presence to advance our mission.

Beyond these achievements, Rose has brought warmth, dedication, and a deep commitment to FAME and the patients and families we serve. She leaves behind a stronger organization and a lasting legacy.

Please join us in thanking Rose for her five years of extraordinary service and wishing her every happiness and success in the journey ahead. She will always be part of the FAME family.

10/10/2026

This Customer Service Week, we celebrate the people who make every patient’s first experience at FAME a welcoming one. 💙

Last year alone, FAME cared for more than 40,000 patients from the rural communities we serve. For every person who walks through our doors, we know that care begins before they ever see a doctor or nurse.

That’s why we bring a customer service mindset to healthcare, drawing on the skills of the hospitality industry in Tanzania to ensure patients are met with kindness, compassion and respect from their very first interaction with our team.

Because excellent healthcare is about more than medical expertise. It’s about making every patient feel welcome, heard and cared for, every step of the way.

10/06/2026

DAF Day is just around the corner. This is the week to make your DAF gift go further!

Recommend a grant to FAME from your Donor Advised Fund this week, and increase your impact by an additional $1,000. A generous FAME supporter will give $1,000 for every DAF grant recommended, up to $25,000. Make your gift to FAME today!

10/05/2026

When the Wild Strikes and The Race Against Venom—these two stories, recently published on FAME’s Journal, share the terrifying tales of two patients.

Recently, we were pleased to welcome our partner Pflaster für Tansania e.V., who came to strengthen our preparedness for emergencies such as these.

During the visit, FAME received the 2027 supply of PANAF-Premium antidote and the clinical team was introduced to the new 2026 guidelines. The team also worked through practical case scenarios, turning the guidelines into real-world preparation for the emergencies that can arrive without warning.

The visit also included the donation of a Meduvent ventilator from WEINMANN, followed by hands-on familiarization with the equipment. The ventilator will support safer and more efficient intra- and inter-hospital transfers of critically ill patients.

For patients who arrive at FAME in the middle of the night, often in critical condition and with little time to spare, preparedness can make all the difference. With updated antidotes, strengthened clinical knowledge, and new equipment for safer patient transfers, our team is better prepared for the next emergency that comes through our doors.

09/29/2026

He doesn't simply tell them where to go. He brings them himself. Starting as early as 4 a.m., he helps people from remote areas make their way by motorcycle and other local transportation to a meeting point in Makuyuni. From there, they board a minibus for the journey to FAME — more than 74 miles round trip. For the past four years, he has made this journey three times a year, consistently bringing members of his community to the care they need.

Who is he?

Discover the story behind his journey. Read “He Who Brings His Community to Care” through the link below:
https://fameafrica.org/journal/2026-fame-he-who-brings-his-community-to-care

09/22/2026

Behind every result is a patient.

When Dr. Frank and Susan were establishing FAME, they encountered a challenge that would become one of the foundations of the hospital: how could patients and clinicians be confident that every laboratory result was accurate and reliable?

They knew that patient-centered care begins with getting the diagnosis right. So, from the very beginning, FAME invested in building a strong laboratory foundation, bringing in a highly experienced laboratory expert—a retired microbiologist and laboratory technology professor, Dr. Joyce, who teamed up with Anthony, FAME’s laboratory manager. Together, they began transforming the FAME lab through training and mentoring our team and establishing rigorous standards for accuracy and reliability.

Today, FAME’s laboratory works around the clock to provide clinicians with the information they need to make decisions about patient care. Last year alone, the team performed more than 115,000 tests — supporting patients across the hospital, from the emergency department to maternity and beyond.

Now, the lab needs to grow again.

As more patients come to FAME for care, we are renovating and expanding the laboratory to increase capacity and create the space our team needs to continue providing reliable, timely results. Because a laboratory result is never just a number. It can help a clinician determine what treatment a patient needs, what happens next and how quickly care can begin.

More patients. More tests. More capacity to provide the trusted care they depend on.

09/18/2026

Caring for the ❤️

As we have passed the halfway mark of 2026, we are deeply grateful to all our partners who continue to walk alongside us, helping extend patient-centered care beyond the walls of FAME and into the communities we serve.

Today, we are proud to continue serving the Hadzabe community through our partnership with The Meleka Foundation. For the past three years, their support has helped Hadzabe communities access lifesaving care at FAME.

Recently, Hadzabe students made the journey to FAME for routine health check-ups — an important opportunity for preventive care for young people from one of Tanzania’s most remote communities. The FAME team screened every student, providing treatment and medication for those who needed it. We are happy to see them now well, fit and ready to return to their studies.

For these students, a visit to FAME means more than treating an illness when they are sick. It is an opportunity to check in on their health, identify concerns early and make sure they have the care they need to stay healthy and in school.

This is what patient-centered care means to us — meeting people where they are, listening to their needs and helping make care accessible to communities across northern Tanzania.

09/16/2026

A Moment Worth Celebrating ❤️

At FAME, we have a special tradition of celebrating with mothers when their babies are finally strong enough to go home after a stay in our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

After eight weeks in our care following a premature delivery by C-section due to medical complications, Doreen is finally going home with her baby safely in her arms. Her baby has reached the required weight and is medically stable enough to continue growing and thriving at home.

Throughout their journey, they were supported by Dr. Naomi, a neonatologist from Australia who is volunteering with FAME for one year through our partnership with the Australian Volunteers Program.

In 2025, FAME cared for 228 babies in our NICU. 30% of the these tiny admissions were referred to us from other health facilities in our community. In case you missed it, you can learn more about FAME’s maternal, newborn and pediatric programs in our 2025 Annual Report

But today, we celebrate Doreen and her baby—and the precious chance to see them go home together.

09/11/2026

A Pain in the Rib

It started with pain.

A five-year-old boy began complaining to his parents about severe, persistent pain on the left side of his chest, around the ribs. Concerned, his parents took him to a nearby health facility in Ngorongoro, where he was referred to FAME for further examination.

At FAME’s Emergency Department, doctors discovered a large collection of puss in the pleural space around his left lung—a serious complication that can occur following a bacterial chest infection such as pneumonia.

FAME Medical Officer in Charge and General Surgeon, Dr. Manjira, led the procedure to drain the infected fluid. More than one liter of puss was removed.

The boy was then admitted to the surgical ward, where he continued his recovery.

Today, he can eat. He can talk. And for his parents, there is a renewed sense of hope for their young son.

“When puss collects around the lung, it cannot simply be treated by waiting for it to go away. In severe cases, draining the infected fluid is an important part of treatment and can give the child a chance to recover.”
— Dr. Manjira, Medical Officer in Charge and General Surgeon, FAME

For this five-year-old, removing more than a liter of infected fluid was an important step in his journey back to health.

09/07/2026

After Years of Hope, Maria Holds Her Firstborn at FAME.

Read the full story, “Our Eyes Beyond FAME” through the link below:
https://fameafrica.org/journal/2026-fame-our-eyes-beyond-fame

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4553 Crimsonwood Drive
Redding, CA
96001

Website

http://www.fameafrica.org/, https://fameafrica.org/journal

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