August 26th, 2017 by jenniferolmstead

My first day was quite exciting. No one expected me till Monday, something about jetlag, but I’m glad I went today. I started with a tour, unintentional while trying to find someone. Then once that person was found I got another tour. Then after being traded off I got another tour, and I still had to ask for directions in the hospital. I think I am getting it figured out now, maybe. I spent time with a nurse who has developed a curriculum and is teaching a nurse’s assistant class, it is 1 year long. We reviewed the curriculum together, which I found fascinating. Then we went to the cantina for lunch, I’m e4njoyign this whole eat with your fingers thing. After lunch, I accompanied her on rounds in one ward and then spent some time with the students. That was interesting as they were so nervous they would not speak at first. I explained that later during my stay I will be spending a week with them and I will ask questions, not because I am questioning whether they know what they are learning, but since things are done so differently here.
It started raining when it was time for me to leave and I had left my raincoat at the house. Someone found me an umbrella to borrow and I was walked back to ensure I did not get lost.
I learned some wonderful things today. The hospital originally had 1000 acres, it currently has 300 and some (I don’t remember the exact amount). Most of this is forest. The house and dorms are about ½ mile from the hospital itself. This is because originally it was a leprosy hospital and the staff did not want to contract the disease. Now it just means we get a nice walk. The hospital serves about 90,000 patients a year and delivers about 5000 babies.
The schedule for my stay has been set. I will spend the first week in the pediatric ward, which includes maternity and neonatal wards as well. The next week I will spend in the general wards, there are 3 and one is the high dependency ward which is similar to our ICU. Everyone is in wards, private rooms do not exist, and some people travel 4-6 hours to be seen. The next week I will spend working with the students, which will hopefully be educational for me and them. My last week I will spend in the outpatient, which is like a clinic. I will give more information on each unit when I spend time in them. The hospital here is really quite amazing. They have x-ray, lab, dentist, and pharmacy. They send for ultrasound, about 1 hour away. The staff all live at or near the hospital. They are encouraging me to be quite involved and I am asked questions about how we do things compared to how they do things by various staff. It is always a fun discussion.
I have had some moments of frustration since my arrival, wondering if I would be able to do anything helpful. After today I feel reassured that God has a plan and this is worth the time away from home.
Saw some things today that were just amazing, and not in a positive way. To describe services at the hospital I must first point out that everyone is in a ward. There are multiple wards such as a female ward and a male ward; however, depending on number of patients and conditions the wards are mixed with both male and female in each. The hospital has a cantina where food is provided, however the family of each patient must go and get the patients food and bring it to them. The hospital does not have staff for this service. There is no charge for the food to ensure that the patients are eating at least 3 times a day. Two patients I saw I can’t describe how I felt in this format. The first was a young man, early 20’s who was paralyze from waist down following an accident on his bike, which is a common form of transportation here and is often used to carry heavy materials. He had been at a different hospital for 1 month. He arrived here with an open pressure sore on his coccyx. His family brought him here after this tis and the development of the sore as the hospital he was at had done nothing. They came with no x-rays or tests. He had not been repositioned by the staff at all as they believed that if they just left him in the same position he would begin to move on his own. Surprising? Now envision a young boy about 2. His mother carried him into the ward and began looking for a staff member, didn’t care who. The child was brought from another hospital where he had not been helped. He has had a high fever and seizures for about 1 month with no change or improvement in condition. The mother says no one knows why he is like this. The child is extremely mall nourished. I could see the outline of his bones as he seized in her arms. Most of the patients are Hindu, some are Muslim. They come here when their local places have failed, many coming from several hours away. They know this is a Christian hospital and the staff are Christians.