Who do we need in the far away county seat of Sum? Do we need the Sum director? No. How about the head of the Aimag Province? No. How about government heads, like the prime minister? That's a definite no. (They are too far away.) To tell the truth they need a Sum doctor. When a new person is born or whether there is a toothache or increase in blood pressure or if you have kidney trouble or fever, a doctor will be the most important person you need. But how should Sum doctors function if they live 100 km away from the center of the Aimag with little infrastructure and really old and used up technology? What should they do to help the nomads more and save them? What kind of doctor do they need in the countryside? They need an efficient doctor more than they need an efficient Aimag head.
To this question Sas Carey has an answer. She is just an ordinary American woman. She is a nurse by profession. Currently she is a bio-energetic nurse. In her opinion traditional medicine can help those who are in the far away countryside. If a Sum doctor knows how to take a pulse, diagnose and give appropriate medicine, it would be good for the poor countryside with very little technology. Western European medicine needs a lot of equipment, but Mongolian Traditional Medicine does not. A doctor who can do that can do what a whole hospital can do.
"Your doctors in the Sum are very professional and well prepared people, however they need more options. If they can combine European medicine with traditional they can protect the health of nomads much better. I hope that Sum doctors will have the ability to combine both." That's what Sas says. She pointed out how Mongolians are very good at adapting to new ways, but we should not forget the old ways. That is something that we lack—the ability to maintain the old. She sees that. And she also thinks about the fact that due to health issues, the nomads are coming closer to the center of the Aimag, to be closer to the hospital and therefore leave their nomadic life, even though they don't wish to.
This coming year Sas will help expand the training for the doctors in Manlai, Mandakh, Altanshire, and Ikh-Ket. Sas now teaches Mongolian Traditional Medicine concepts in the West. She has a Mongolian teacher. Her teacher Boldsaikhan, while teaching a course in the US, looked at the urine of a woman and told her she has a brain tumor. Just by looking! This is an unbelievable diagnosis for Americans who very much rely on modern technology and equipment. "Don't you think it's astonishing to look at a urine and diagnose a brain tumor? You have this incredible knowledge and tradition. You could re-incorporate it into your healthcare," says Sas Carey.
South Gobi's Manlai Sum has a modern laboratory. At the laboratory, they can run ten different tests. Sas Carey in 2002 brought this laboratory from the US. Due to this, residents of Manlai Sum no longer have to travel 250 km to Dalanzadgad. A laboratory is very helpful when there needs to be an emergency operation. It is extremely helpful because now a person who's on the brink of life and death does not have to travel 250 km on a bumpy road to have tests before an operation. Instead of that, a surgeon can come from the Aimag to the sum's hospital. This is much less dangerous.
Sas brought the same laboratory equipment to Mandakh, Ikh-Ket and Altanshiree. She also gave equipment and microscopes to Kharkhorin's hospital. Having the equipment and technology to run a test in a modern laboratory is an incredibly expensive gift. When Sas Carey met with Manlai Sum's doctor Rensen Norov in 2001, Rensen Norov told Sas that her dream is to have a laboratory. Her dream came true the following year.
But wait a minute. Why does this American woman help these far away country nomads, these far away Sum hospitals, why Mongolians? There are many people around Asia and Africa that live more difficult lives than we do. In order to answer this question, Sas thought for a while. Why just Mongolians? She could have reached out to another country. She came to Mongolia 10 years ago for the first time. Just stepping out of the plane when she saw the blue sky and the surrounding mountains, she took a deep breath and she felt that she was home. "My heart directed me to help the people of this country. Plus in the US, I have many advantages that Mongolians don't have. Mongolians deserve to be able go to the hospital and get the healthcare that I have." said she. She writes letters to American hospitals stating that Mongolian rural hospitals need help. Through her persuasion, five sums have laboratories now.
These are all gifts of generosity, not that Sas is a billionaire with never-ending money. She directs others' generous contributions to the Mongolian countryside. But now she wishes that Mongolians could continue this act of helping. Some tests in the laboratory are single use, therefore there needs to be a supply stream. It is impossible to give this gift every year from the states, while at the same time Sum hospitals don't have money. Therefore, "someone", say the Department of Health, could take the initiative to continue providing supplies… But without relying on "someone" or more financial support, the best way to maintain good health for nomads is to train the doctors in Mongolian Medicine. The sums need doctors who take pulse diagnoses and give traditional medicine. This combined with their knowledge of European medicine is worth gold to Sum hospitals. This is what Sas Carey thinks. Perhaps this is a path that we haven't looked at that could become a foundation for our healthcare.
