BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT PROGRAM
As a consultant to the University of Minnesota Physicians, MCA, Inc. has assisted in the implementation of a blood and marrow transplant (BMT) program at Manipal Hospital in Bangalore, India. An initial assessment was performed to provide recommendations on which to base the program’s development. Basic and advanced teaching curriculums on bone marrow transplant were written and taught to the nursing staff, interns and nurse tutors. Policies, procedures and protocols have been written in collaboration with the Manipal staff. The program has successfully completed ten transplants to date.
"Magdeline is so easy to understand in how she teaches. It really helps us that she knows about how we take care of patients in India and what our difficulties are so she can teach us properly,"
Alphonsa, Ward-in-charge, Oncology and BMT.
BEDNET PROJECT AND SCHOOL OF NURSING CURRICULUM UPGRADE
As a consultant to Global Health Ministries, an assessment of Bethesda Hospital, Health Center, and School of Nursing in the Ambur area of India, was conducted to determine how Global Health Ministries could support the needs of the institutions. Enhancing the maternal/child health services is one of the projects identified; the project will begin in 2007.
Based on the assessment, a Bednet Project was implemented. The project provides bednets to the employees, to expectant mothers on their first prenatal visit, or to new mothers at delivery if they have not received one already. In addition, the bednets are retreated once a year to assure continued protection from malaria.
"No one here can afford bednets so a lot of people get malaria and die. This project will help to save lives, especially for babies and children,"
Priscella, Patient Coordinator.
The Bethesda School of Nursing’s assessment focused on the steps necessary to raise the educational level of the school to receive accreditation as a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing program. One of the accreditation requirements is the implementation of a computer course. To implement the course, MCA, Inc. has located a source of refurbished computers, which it will facilitate the delivery of. We will return to Ambur after the computers have been received to set them up and to mentor the faculty to teach the course.
The success of the project with Bethesda Hospital led Karunalaya Hospital in Wandoor, Kerala, India to ask for assistance identifying the needs of their facility.
LICE EDUCATION PROGRAM
Dr. Aagard led a team of people including healthcare personnel, teachers and construction experts to a small rural village in Sri-Lanka in 2005. Health education was an important component of our post-tsunami relief mission. The villagers we served were taught about the issues that accompany poor sanitation and garbage burning. We worked with them to identify a location suitable for a burn pit, which would prevent the smoke from blowing into the village. The importance of taking their garbage to the burn pit, rather than dumping it outside their house, or in the river was emphasized as well. During the tsunami, the river flooded into their houses, and with the garbage that was dumped there it caused the villagers to become ill. The villagers had been taught this in the past; however, the results of the tsunami made them believe it.
Lice are a significant health issue in the villages. The villagers were taught how to know they have lice, how to use nit combs, were provided with shampoo, and taught how to prevent them.
The first post-tsunami relief group noted that the local hospital did not have blankets for their newborns. All of the post-tsunami relief groups came together to make blankets for the hospital. It was our responsibility to deliver the blankets to the hospital as the kick-off to the program, which continues to send blankets.
AIDS TRANSMISSION PREVENTION
The Ntoma Orphanage cares for infants and children up to age five. Many of the children have been orphaned because their parents died of AIDS, or their mother died of AIDS and the father cannot care for them. MCA, Inc. taught the staff of Ntoma Orphanage about prevention of AIDS transmission. The staff does not always know if the child is HIV positive or not. As in many such orphanages, the children do not wear diapers to make it easier for staff to clean them, and to toilet train them. They begin toilet training them as soon as they can sit up. The children play on the floor, often soiling it, and then eat in the same place. Hand washing and cleaning were the focus of the endeavor. The ability to provide basic levels of cleanliness is complicated by the remote location of the orphanage and lack of access to such supplies, however, they do have very good laundry facilities and laundry soap is easier to obtain. Laundry soap was substituted for floor cleaner, which worked very well. Vinyl cloth, which is easy to wash off, was placed on the floor. The staff was encouraged to have the children wear some type of diaper to contain as much of the soiling as possible since laundry could be done.
Two years later the staff continues to follow the prevention ideas that were instituted. Whether or not they are successful in preventing transmission is unclear since the children and staff are not routinely tested.
"We do not worry about getting AIDS, we take care of the babies, but it is good to know about the cleaning to stop it,"
Evangelina, Director of Ntoma Orphange.