Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Clinic staff

My main job in Gonaives at the moment is getting the Jubilee clinic up and running. It was closed over the holidays and the solitary Haitian nurse who used to run the show, quit in December. So Grace and I have started from scratch, hiring a new nurse and 3 nursing assistants (NA) trained in Much Ministries' Medical Trade School this past fall.


We spent a few weeks prepping the clinic and our supplies, then we spent 2 weeks just doing staff training. Clinic opened officially on February 6th and has been running remarkably smoothly since then. Vesline, our nurse, and Oscar, our clinic NA have been doing a great job, learning as they go. Our happiest surprise has been Samuela (below in white), an NA hired to do home blood pressure visits to the elderly. She has come daily to clinic though she knows we can't pay her for it, just because she wants to help.


We have general clinic on Mondays, prenatal program on Tuesday mornings, malnutrition program on Tuesday afternoons, blood pressure checks on Wednesdays, and follow-up day on Thursdays. The home visits occur every Saturday and Sunday, and of course, people come to me and Grace constantly during our off hours with wounds, headaches, rashes, fevers, and all sorts of ailments. Needless to say, it's a busy life!

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