Cost Effective Health Care

Hospital visits with Dr. Shobha are always interesting. We see such interesting cases throughout the day. The CRHP Hospital is not like a typical hospital that exists in a lot of other places. Relatives play a major role in patient care; they bring food for the patient, support them and come to visit all throughout the day. The patients’ relatives help the nurses in patient care, which improves the healing process and allows for earlier discharge. What CRHP tries to implement is called Cost-effective Secondary Care.

I feel as if US hospitals are turning into a huge profit-generating machine. Many doctors put patients through unnecessary tests and expensive drugs resulting in their personal benefit or profits. In the CRHP Hospital, the pharmacy only keeps the WHO list of essential drugs and nothing too expensive. When people need further treatment, they are usually referred to a hospital. With this the Doctors have to know the cost of drugs and lab tests to choose the most cost-effective treatments for patients.

The medical personnel believe in people’s potential and try to demystify medicine. One surgery assistant that Dr. Shobha really trusts performs better than a lot of trained nurses and he only has a fourth grade education. Patients are charged on a sliding scale based on income. Only emergent cases such as Cesarian, burn victims, surgeries, snake bites and more are admitted to the hospital. Most of the care for regular ailments are addressed at home by trained Village Health Workers.

The hospital is certain that this is the best way, for them, to be able to provide low cost and efficient health care for patients that come in.

TTYS.

A Wonderful Surprise

I told you guys of the sanitation issues in India last week, so you can imagine my surprise when I came across this!!!

Most probably one of the best bathrooms I have seen. The toilet situation here in India leaves much to be desired. To be honest - It's pretty disturbing.

This restroom is a luxury reserved for those of a certain caste. The poor will never see the like of this bathroom. They instead defecate on the side of the road. I am careful to avoid the feces on my morning run. Sanitation is a big issue here.

While you may not be able to tell by the picture, it's actually very clean. It's an interesting take on the modern latrine.

Thoughts?

TTYS!

The CRHP Hospital

Above is the CRHP Hospital.

I spend two days a week, Wednesdays and Thursdays at rhe CRHP Hospital. It is not a hospital by US standards and visits are reserved foe specialty care. Much of the health care is handled and treated at home, thus our trips into the villages on Mondays. Each village has a Health Worker who tends to medical needs. Hospital stays and visits are expensive and unaffordable my most in the community.

Donate To The Cause

If you notice on the side bar there is a new link to foster donations to CRHP in Jamkhed, India. I urge you to please make a donation to the cause. Your funds will go towards the growth and development of life saving medical programs in India.

Based on what I've seen, the villages and surrounding areas are in great need of this help. This cause is now very close to my heart.

Please remember that every little bit helps.

Link: To Donate

Thanks so much!

My Observations on India's Issue Of Sanitation

Every Monday we go out and visit one of the villages around Jamkhed town. CRHP does not do their work in Jamkhed town because its mission is to serve the poorest of the poor. The majority of the project villages are in remote areas where no one wants to serve.

I am going to try to paint a picture for you of what the villages look like....

In the first village there were many small huts scattered around. The houses made from cement or bricks are for the people of a higher caste. Human and animal feces lined the sides of the roads; no drainage system, no house has a toilet. The wells are only located near the brick homes. In the second village most of the houses were built of brick and cement. Soak pits are built along the road to eliminate stagnant run-off water. the roads are pretty clean. Approximately half of the homes had toilets. but what was very interesting was that due to lack of space inside the homes, some built toilets on their rooftop!

If you ask anyone what is the biggest obstacle in helping the villages progress it is a unanimous response - SANITATION! Toilets more specifically. It's a concern that the villagers have a hard time adjusting to. This I think has to do with the culture itself.

First, you would have to understand the caste system in India. The lowest caste does the dirty work - the work that no one else wants to do. Therefore, if you as a higher caste member (example Brahmin) have a toilet in your home, who would clean it? No one wants to clean the toilet so it is easier to use a bucket and take care of your "business" in the open air. While I hear conditions have improved there are still many improvements to be made.

Is there an easy answer or solution? I personally think, for sanitary purposes, the western toilets would not be the best solution. A modern version of latrines would be best and prevent the spread of infections.


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Photo Source: Sanitation Update

Reflection On What I Have Learned Thus Far

CRHP has planted a seed in me regarding community health based work. Community health was not really introduced to me until I took the Global Health course at Mount Sinai. I am seeing, first hand, the benefits of Community Health Programs during my stay here in India.

Coming from a developing country, Haiti, I completely understand the need and necessity for programs like CRHP. Such programs help the poor and marginalized to progress and develop on their own.

Other than the well known anthropologist, Paul Farmer, I have not heard of individuals doing this type of Global work in flew eloping nations and succeeding. I am completely sure that there have been NGOs that have attempted to do some work in various regions of Haiti and India; the problem is that many come for a few months then pack up and leave. They leave with their supplies and knowledge, thus leaving impoverished residents with nothing - incomplete interventions or projects. The common denominator in each case/country is lacking. The missing and most important ingredient is compassion. NGOs first need to understand the lives of the people and villages where they are based. Strategic planning coupled with knowledge and observation are essential to growth/progress for all those involved.

My coursework and personal experience thus far, have left me thinking about the subject matter in a more critical manner. There's true benefit to hands on experience!

Food for thought...

Hello and Welcome

Howdy! Welcome to my little space in the blogisphere. It's the place where you will find all of my musings as I spend the next two months in Jamkhed, India. I plan to tell you of my teaching adventures, the people, the culture, the food, and any other interesting tid-bits I come across on my journey. I hope you enjoy the ride!

xoxo Na'Dege