 Operation Clinic
Operation Clinic collects and sends medical supplies and texts. Mission teams work with clinics abroad by providing medical assistance, basic healthcare guidelines and replenishing supplies.
History and Goals (by Doris Acton)
The idea for opening a clinic started on my trip to SL in 2005. Serving as the nurse on a construction team, I had a chance to note the rural areas and villages and the lack of basic services. I talked to Lyndy Zabel (OC Ministries Chair), Reverend Ed Kamara (pastor and Sierra Leone contact) and Saffa (Sierra Leone United Methodist Church contact) about the possibility of opening a clinic in a rural area outside Makeni and they approved exploring the possibility.
I returned in January 2006 and with Aminata Kamara (Ed’s wife), Gail Keck, RN and other professionals, we spoke to several villages to assess their wants and needs. We decided to focus on Manonkoh because of remoteness of the village, the distance to the nearest clinic (five miles), the central location of Manonkoh to the surrounding villages of Masanthie, Rokon and Massery, the presence of a UMC church and school and the willingness of the village to try this project.
Aminata Kamara, a MCHA (Maternal Child Health Aide), would oversee the clinic and serve as the primary clinician. Each of the four targeted villages (Manonkoh, Masathie, Rokon and Massery) would appoint a health worker to assist Aminata and to develop basic health skills from her so that they could oversee their village’s health needs and provide follow-up to people who had been seen.
The first medical team from OC Ministries came in January 2007. Our goal is to send a medical team three to four times a year.
Clinic Goals…
- To provide the people of Manonkoh, Masanthie, Rokon and Massery with health care that is culturally sensitive, congruent and respectful and to show the love of Christ through our care and our presence. We focus on the resources within the community and emphasize that the clinic is theirs and they have control on how it is run. We, OC Ministries, provide support financially, with continuing education, presence and then when we come we bring trained doctors and nurses to work with the health workers on clinic days.
- To create healthy communities through health promotion and health practices, e.g., home management of malaria, deworming programs, home management of diarrhea and dehydration and oral rehydration, blood pressure management, community education, safe water practices, nutrition, proper food handling and storage, hygiene, etc.
- To create a model that can be replicated in other rural communities in Sierra Leone.
What to expect:
Medical teams work with the health workers and Aminata to deliver care that is culturally congruent. Doctors and nurses will see patients, evaluate their health concerns and then treat as appropriate. Non-medical team members assist the doctors and nurses as pharmacy techs and facilitate intake procedures like blood pressure, weight, height and temperature.
This is a primary care clinic addressing health needs that we can safely treat. Because of the lack of resources, e.g., electricity and running water, we are not able to do diagnostic tests and any invasive type procedures. Those cases are referred to the hospital or government clinic in Makeni, 16 miles away.
We typically see:
- URI’s
- Hypertension
- Malaria
- Malnutrition and poor nutrition
- Diarrhea
- Parasitic diseases
- Stomach problems
- Muscular aches and pains
- Newborn and early child follow-up
- Prenatal and post natal mothers
- Malaria
- Vision problems
- Diabetes
- STD’s
We try to use very simple medications and ones that can be found in Makeni. We bring over:
- Antibiotics….Amoxicillin, Cipro, Doxycycline, Cefixime and Flagyl
- Analgesics…acetaminophen and ibuprofen
- Multi-vitamins and prenatal vitamins
- Antacids
- Albendazole
Malaria medication is purchased in Sierra Leone
And…we can use anything in infant/child doses…especially Tylenol and infant vitamins!
Future clinic trips can be accessed through Julie Burma, the trip coordinator at jburma@comcast.net
For more information contact:
Julie Burma jburma@comcast.net
Doris Acton, RN at doris.acton@nhylandsumc.org or 952-835-7585
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