Promoting Sustainable Health Care In Kenya
Our first two weeks back in Kenya were spent at the AIC Gatab Health Centre, nestled three thousand feet above Lake Turkana. Sunset views over the alkaline lake make the long journey from Nairobi worthwhile, for new volunteers and veteran participants alike.
At the start, the most frequent problem we encountered is what Dr. Glenn calls “FB Thorn Stick”, or foreign-body, thorn or stick. This happens when someone has stepped on or been impaled by a thorn or broken off chunk of wood. These can be embedded under their skin for several years.
While it’s a common issue, the pain and discomfort that results from this can interrupt day-to-day activities. Through sustainable health care education, we can help improve the quality of life for people in these remote areas that don’t have access to basic surgical care.
Trainees from the clinic were excited to scrub into the Mobile Surgical Unit’s operating theater to lead or assist in these types of operations. On the first day, there were four foreign body removals, all completed by the local healthcare professionals with the oversight and teaching of Dr. Glenn.
We start with these simple operations, and then, we’re able to call on the expertise of volunteers like Dr. Nicole Williams, a gynecologic surgeon from Chicago. During our second week in Gatab, she taught the local nurses how to perform more detailed antenatal testing.
“Given the high risk population of young mothers paired with nutritional deficiencies, being able to tell when a baby is in trouble could be the difference between survival and death,” Dr. Williams told us.
Dr. Nicole Williams working with Steven, one of the nurses at the AIC Gatab Health Centre.
“There’s always that “A-ha” moment that occurs when your student finally gets a new skill. That happened when one of my nurses, Anjeli, was finally able to find a fetal femur all on her own. While during most of the training she had been reserved and quiet, her face lit up!”
Dr. Williams understands that knowledge is a gift that we can share with anyone in any place in the world. It’s because of volunteers like her that Mission to Heal can continue promoting sustainable health care, even in drought-stricken Kenya.
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