Jamkhed - my home for the next month is a small village about 6 hours east of Mumbai. It is home to the Community Rural Health Project (CRHP) which I have learned a lot about in the past three days!
The first day here we did a tour of a local village and had several class meetings on the history of India and the caste system. Its important to understand the people we see and their history. We met Dr. Arole, one of the founders of the project and talked a lot about the health system here in India and the problems with it as well as the problems with the US system...that it is all about money.
Yesterday was basic orientation on the program and the history of Jamkhed. We have class twice a day on various health topics and also do village visits twice a week to see what the village health workers are doing. The basic story is that Drs Mabelle and Raj Arole met while at the best med school in India. They both had similar goals of wanting to help the poor and enable them to help themselves.
After training all around India and the US they decided to come to Jamkhed and start the project. Basically they have a hospital and then mobile health teams to go around to villages. They train local women to be "village health workers" who can take care of basic needs and tell people when they need to go to the hospital. The project started in the 1970s with an infant mortality rate of 176 per 1000 and now its 19 per 1000. Leprosy and TB have been cut down over 60 percent. Only 5 percent of women used to get prenatal care now 96 percent do. Not only has health improved but the education has helped the villagers to move beyond the caste system, build businesses, etc.
The women who are village health workers are honored whereas they used to be treated horribly. It is absolutely amazing and inspiring what these two people have done. They know serve 1 million people around the area and 75 villages. They have trained over 100,000 people sincw the 1980s.
We toured the hospital yesterday and while very basic compared t ours it is sufficient. The Aroles daughter is now the main doctor but they have specialists come in all the time. We went around and met all the patients - some TB, a malnursished 2 year old (so sad), 2 new borns, a woman who had clampsia (she delivered safely last night), appendicitis, etc. One thing different here is that any patient brings a family member who stays with them the whole time and brings them food and stuff. Most of the nurses don't have any real training but do an amazing job.
Today we heard from a few village health workers and their personal stories. Really amazing. During the month we will give a presentation (mine is on birth defects and disabilities and how villages deal with them). We also will get to shadow Dr. Shoba. Should be a great month, I know I will learn a ton!!
The Group: really a good group. There are 13 of us: 5 boys, 8 girls, one married couple. 4 people from MT Sinai med school who just finished their first yeat. 3 from suny down state med school, 1 going to vanderbuilt med in the fall, 1 girl finishong her undergrad at unc, 1 guy from san fran who juat finished 3rd year med, and 1 girl from london who just finished 3rd, 1 guy who is a clinical psychologist (half of the married couple). So I'm the only MPh but since some haven't even been to med school yet it doesn't really matter- its not clinical at all. Everyone seems to be gettting along well and we are all taking a trip this weekend to a city about 4 hours away. I'm staying in an apartment type building with one other girl and have my own room. Pretty nice except the geckos that live with me, but supposedly they eat bugs so okay. No AC but shockingly IT IS NOT HOT here!!! Its so much cooler than up north and a nice breeze goes all day! Fabulous.
Anyway, that's a lot of info. I could go on but have class in 15.
Later!
The first day here we did a tour of a local village and had several class meetings on the history of India and the caste system. Its important to understand the people we see and their history. We met Dr. Arole, one of the founders of the project and talked a lot about the health system here in India and the problems with it as well as the problems with the US system...that it is all about money.
Yesterday was basic orientation on the program and the history of Jamkhed. We have class twice a day on various health topics and also do village visits twice a week to see what the village health workers are doing. The basic story is that Drs Mabelle and Raj Arole met while at the best med school in India. They both had similar goals of wanting to help the poor and enable them to help themselves.
After training all around India and the US they decided to come to Jamkhed and start the project. Basically they have a hospital and then mobile health teams to go around to villages. They train local women to be "village health workers" who can take care of basic needs and tell people when they need to go to the hospital. The project started in the 1970s with an infant mortality rate of 176 per 1000 and now its 19 per 1000. Leprosy and TB have been cut down over 60 percent. Only 5 percent of women used to get prenatal care now 96 percent do. Not only has health improved but the education has helped the villagers to move beyond the caste system, build businesses, etc.
The women who are village health workers are honored whereas they used to be treated horribly. It is absolutely amazing and inspiring what these two people have done. They know serve 1 million people around the area and 75 villages. They have trained over 100,000 people sincw the 1980s.
We toured the hospital yesterday and while very basic compared t ours it is sufficient. The Aroles daughter is now the main doctor but they have specialists come in all the time. We went around and met all the patients - some TB, a malnursished 2 year old (so sad), 2 new borns, a woman who had clampsia (she delivered safely last night), appendicitis, etc. One thing different here is that any patient brings a family member who stays with them the whole time and brings them food and stuff. Most of the nurses don't have any real training but do an amazing job.
Today we heard from a few village health workers and their personal stories. Really amazing. During the month we will give a presentation (mine is on birth defects and disabilities and how villages deal with them). We also will get to shadow Dr. Shoba. Should be a great month, I know I will learn a ton!!
The Group: really a good group. There are 13 of us: 5 boys, 8 girls, one married couple. 4 people from MT Sinai med school who just finished their first yeat. 3 from suny down state med school, 1 going to vanderbuilt med in the fall, 1 girl finishong her undergrad at unc, 1 guy from san fran who juat finished 3rd year med, and 1 girl from london who just finished 3rd, 1 guy who is a clinical psychologist (half of the married couple). So I'm the only MPh but since some haven't even been to med school yet it doesn't really matter- its not clinical at all. Everyone seems to be gettting along well and we are all taking a trip this weekend to a city about 4 hours away. I'm staying in an apartment type building with one other girl and have my own room. Pretty nice except the geckos that live with me, but supposedly they eat bugs so okay. No AC but shockingly IT IS NOT HOT here!!! Its so much cooler than up north and a nice breeze goes all day! Fabulous.
Anyway, that's a lot of info. I could go on but have class in 15.
Later!
1 comment:
Sounds absolutely amazing. I can't wait to hear the kinds of things you're learning. Take advantage of every experience, and have a safe trip this weekend! Love and miss you!
Stefie
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