Community Health Visits- 12/31/08

Today was my first day heading out to the rural villages surrounding Lambarene. I went as a member of the community health team which consisted of 4 nurses and myself. Our first and only stop of the day was to Kongolou, a small village approximately 40 km from Lambarene. We first drove through the village as Mamma Sophie, the Director of the Community Health Clinic, yelled out the window informing people that the health team has arrived. The people then knew to bring any sick children or any children due for vaccinations or a well child check-up to the community's health clinic.

I was a bit nervous knowing that I was the only one that was going to be doing the pediatric sick visits for the day. Everyone knew that I have yet to graduate from medical school (and I made a point to remind them). I think they were happy though to have another helping hand and someone with medical knowledge was a definite bonus. There were only 3 sick visits today; one fungal skin infection and 2 upper respiratory infections. Fortunately, I felt prepared to handle these cases and truly enjoyed being part of the health team.

After the sick consultations we mainly dealt with vaccinations and well child check-ups.

I am meeting with the former director of the community health program on Friday to discuss potential public health projects during my time here.

Here are some other photos from my first week:

Lambarene's market: Kongolou's market:

Making charcoal:



Self-portrait at the hospital: Vaccination calendar:
Thank goodness for screening: Infant feeding schedule:

Passing out Christmas gifts in the internal medicine ward Christmas morning.

Today, Monday 12/29, was my first day of work in the pediatric ward. I spent most of my time working with Dr. Bonito (a pediatrician from Burundi) and Paul (a pediatrician from Germany). We saw an incredibly broad range of cases throughout the day....inguinal hernia, multiple children with sickle cell disease, tuberculosis, diarrhea, snake bite, malaria, fever of unknown origin...to name a few. I will start doing pediatric consultations and immunization tours in remote villages starting Wednesday.

Scenes from around the hospital

I arrived in Lambarene safe and sound on December 24th. It was a bit strange arriving on Christmas Eve but after 20+ hrs of flying and accepting that I may never see my luggage again after it failed to arrive on my flight, I was more than happy to be here. Things have been surreal since my arrival in Gabon. It always seems to take time to fully adjust to life abroad.

I was welcomed by the hospital staff, who were gearing up for a holiday party. Everyone was extremely welcoming and made me feel right at home. I was able to move my belongings into my house, pictured below, but have yet to unpack. My days have been fairly busy since arriving; spending most of my time orienting myself to the hospital grounds and introducing myself to the staff.

Friday, December 26th was my first day of work. I spent most of the day in the maternity/pediatric ward where I helped with vaccinations and weighing babies. It is with these staff members that I will work twice a week, traveling out to villages in the greater Lambarene area. These visits will consist of pediatric consultations, vaccinations and well child checks. The remainder of the week will be spent developing long term public health projects. Some potential projects include investigating infant mortality rates and associated risk factors, family planning, pediatric HIV, and establishing and centralizing vaccination records for children in the Lambarene area.

View from my front porch: Home sweet home:

Overlooking the old Albert Schweitzer Hospital:

Ooguee River:

Gabon

The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily represent the positions, strategies or opinions of The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, the Albert Schweitzer Hospital, or the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University.