Out of the Ordinary Events of the Week

Eat Well. Stay Healthy.

Something a little out of the ordinary happened on Tuesday this week. When I finished working in triage, I made my way back to the CRED ("Crecimiento y Desarrollo del Niño" aka Child Growth and Development) area to help with weighing, measuring, and evaluating the babies. There was an exceptionally large hoard of ladies crowding the tiny space and I wondered why the nurses weren't telling them to wait outside for their turn, like they usually do. It turned out that there was a "charla," or chat/presentation, for the mothers in the clinic and many of them were told specifically to come in on that day to participate in the chat. 

The first segment of the presentation was a very brief talk about how to prevent stomach cancer. One of the doctors in the clinic gave the presentation and talked about various factors that can increase the likelihood of getting cancer, including things like genetics and lifestyle. She stressed that while we have no control over the genes we inherit, we can choose to live in a healthy way and take control of the factors that we can. 

The doctor covered basic healthy habits that can prevent stomach cancer among various other health problems. She recommended that everyone eat five fruits everyday in addition to vegetables like lettuce and broccoli. She also said that exercise is important in preventing cancer and that everyone should get 30 minutes of exercise daily. While it is not likely that many of the ladies in the health center have time to go for a run or hit the gym every morning, the doctor did say that even just walking a total of 30 minutes everyday can be beneficial and they don't have to be 30 consecutive minutes. I don't doubt that many of the mothers walk at least 30 minutes everyday, if not more, just getting around town and such. The doctor also suggested not drinking alcohol in excess or smoking. Most of the advice given seemed pretty basic and nothing was all that novel for me, but it could have been the first time some of the ladies heard some of these things.

The second part of the presentation was much more hands-on and much more interesting. It was about how to properly feed babies and young children and how to eat as a nursing mother. The nurses brought in food and showed examples of various different types of foods in different forms and quantities to give to babies of varying ages. I helped by making a mashed potato puree mixture with other vegetables and meat. It pretty much was homemade baby food made by mashing all the components of a meal into puree. 

There were all sorts of different types of food: rice, quinoa, lentils, potatoes, carrots, squash, chicken, and chicken liver. I found it really interesting that the nurse stressed multiple times how important it is that the babies and nursing mothers eat liver at least 2 or 3 times a week. She said that anemia is a big problem and liver is high in iron. I personally am not a huge fan of the idea but do admit that I have eaten liver a time or two while I've been here. I don't particularly care for it, but it's not horrible either. 

I think the talks were very beneficial and it definitely added some spice to my day. I think that preventative and educational talks are really important as I've mentioned before that I think the majority of the problems experienced by infants and children come from a lack of knowledge. I'll be interested to see if this is a  somewhat regular occurrence or a one time deal. 

Strike!

Today and yesterday in the health center, the doctors were on strike. There still were a few doctors who accepted patients with emergencies or who needed immediate care but there were significantly fewer patients than normal. They only accepted a total of 15 patients yesterday when normally there are double or triple that seen by the medics alone. Today no patients were seen by the medics, but a few patients were still seen by the obstetricians and in the child grow and development area. 

The posters on the door to the health clinic said:

Paro Medico - Por la Reforma de Salud

Más insumos para pacientes

Mejor infraestructura

Más medicamentos por tu SIS

No a la privatización de Salud

 Which translates to:

Medical Strike - For Health Reform

More resources for patients

Better infrastructure

More medicine for your SIS (Integral Health Insurance)

No Privatization of Health

 Today I found out that the strike was not limited to the Santa Rosa health center but was nation wide. I believe unfair pay and salaries were part of the issue that the doctors were protesting, but I am not 100% sure about the exact reasons behind the strike. It made for a slow couple of days in the clinic because of the significant reduction in patients. I hope that Monday of next week isn't too crazy with all the overflow of people who would have been seen today.