News from the Edge

Success Stories from Medical Outreach: The Results of Team Work in Health Care

This end of January, a week of medical outreach was held in varying communities. All are welcome, from infants to the elderly. These medical clinics are a twice/year occurrence and everyone has their part to play to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Each one has their gifting that they offer to the team. The careful driving to and from communities, so that all staff members arrive safely. The nurses assess, diagnose, and treat. The doctors assist in this as needed, provide essential mentoring and education, and generously give of their time and funds. There is the dispensing of medication and provision of medication instruction. There are those that translate to ensure there is clear communication between the patients, nurses, and doctors. There is the medical documentation of each patient seen. There is the behind the scene work of medical clinic organization, videography, and photography.

Each role is important to providing excellent care and sharing this work with others. Through all these parts working together as one body, each patient is treated with respect, compassion, and the highest of care. Three important aspects of medical outreach is that the patients receive this, that the nurses are increasingly competent in their work and knowledge, and that relationships with communities are strengthened. Below are some testimonies from patients and showing some of these goals being met.

Testimony from the mother of 2 month old female baby with severe respiratory distress

On Friday, My baby developed a fever and was coughing a lot. By Sunday, she was struggling and breathing rapidly. I bought some pills to decrease her fever, but they didn’t work. Later, she was hardly breastfeeding. I heard that ASOSAP was holding medical outreach in Pampacche on Tuesday and I decided to take her there right away. Upon arrival at the health post, my baby received immediate attention. The staff saw that she was in very serious condition and passed her to be seen before others who were ahead of her in line. The ASOSAP staff assessed her and the doctor decided to nebulize her right away. She also gave her an injection for her lungs. This helped her greatly and she started to breath well. The doctor also gave her an antibiotic and this has also helped a lot. She no longer has fever and her cough has calmed down. She is now well. She is sleeping and breastfeeding well. I would always recommend those I know to go and be seen by ASOSAP at the health post. The organization greatly helps the community. In the hospital, we aren’t seen quickly and it is also quite far away for us. From the bottom of my heart, I thank the doctor for the time she dedicated to my baby. This saved my baby’s life. I hope that ASOSAP continues to work with the community.

Male – 66 years old, acute/chronic urinary obstruction

5 years ago I started to have symptoms, such as difficulty urinating. 2 years ago, my symptoms worsened. I went to several doctors, but no one could give me a diagnosis. Meanwhile, I was spending a lot of money trying to get my health back. I was very happy to be seen by the doctor during medical outreach. I had confidence that he would be able to treat my condition. Unfortunately, I didn’t receive good news. My condition was very serious and I needed to be referred to a urologist. I saw the urologist and he inserted a catheter and did several tests. He determined that I would need prostate surgery. That is the only option for me to be healthy again.This is best medical attention that I have received. They didn’t charge me anything for the medical care. They also supported me by taking me to the urologist and guiding me through this whole process. Now I feel a little better. I no longer have extreme pain and my stomach isn’t swollen like before. I will continue in this process and hope that I can find the money needed to cover the cost of my surgery. I thank ASOSAP for supporting me through these difficult moments. I hope that they can continue assisting me as much as possible, according to God’s will.

We at ASOSAP also can testify especially about Nurses Alicia and Miguel. They are aquiring new knowledge and skills yearly. They are so grateful for these learning opportunities that the doctors and ASOSAP staff provide. They are an essential part of the team. The ASOSAP staff and doctors are so proud of them! God surely had a plan for them when ASOSAP partnered with them through nursing education scholarships!

Thank you for your prayers and financial gifts that support the health post and ASOSAP staff year round. We will leave you with a few more of our favorite photos from medical outreach.