Coming up with healthcare solutions in Liberia one has to have an understanding of who is going to implement healthcare throughout the country. Liberia has a tremendous shortage of doctors. Liberian doctors because of the war relocated outside of Liberia. Many of the skilled health workers relocated in United States or Europe. There has always been those educated seeking to relocate outside of Liberia. I believe that impulse is still strong today. Even today there is travel advisories concerning travel to Liberia that limits travel because of safety.
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| Dr. Raj Panjabi |
The Ministry of health in Liberia has teamed up with the Last Mile Health Organization run by Dr. Raj Panjabi of Boston, to train community health workers located in rural areas of Liberia to treat life-threatening diseases such as malaria, pneumonia, caring for expecting mothers. The community health workers will have ongoing training to reach higher professional standards. They will have their cell phones to connect to supervising nurses to help care for the patients who are more isolated in the villages and locations in the rain forest of Liberia. I became familiar with Dr. Raj Panjabi in a NYT article linked bellow. I also have linked below his web site. Check it out.
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| Barb crossing stream 77 |
In my brief time in the bush in Grand Bassa we ran a clinic with two RNs from United States. Elaine went to a special six weeks course in Toronto in tropical nursing. Barb worked in emergency rooms and intensive care before coming to Liberia. Both of them attended a week seminar at the ELWA hospital in identifying and treating common tropical diseases from the viewpoint of a doctor in primitive conditions without a lab or screenings. What does the train eye tell you?
The medical care that the girls were able to give was real good. They had to train their interpreters for better communication in medical things.
I can tell you that back in 1977 we were trying to figure out an ongoing training program for Liberians to have the skills described for community health workers in today's last mile health organization guidelines. Civil War prevented my return to begin working on training Liberians to expand the effectiveness of a medical clinic and create other centers in the bush.
The technology of the cell phone brings real possibilities of support for people trained to help care for those who are out of reach of a clinic. Back in 1977 we were the only clinic in an area about the size of an Illinois County. As cell towers
increase in Liberia, imagine not just voice but video calls that will help the supervising nurse to not only hear the description of the patient, but be able to see as well. This part of this service is not there yet; I would definitely encourage the deployment for video calls as soon as it becomes available. Cell phones used in support is huge. I learned from the last mile health site
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| CHW with back pack of medicine and training Check out lastmilehealth.org |
Can you see the endless possibilities with online and medical support. There has to be a bridge between professional language and training people who are smart but I have a limited education. Under score that just because people have lacked educational opportunities does not mean that they are stupid. When I lived with the Liberians they taught me many things. The country or bush people were creative and sharp as they lived in the jungle. They were unfamiliar with modern life but they had an eagerness to learn. When you look at Dr. Raj Panjabi website I think you will pick that up with them in the many photos he has there.
All of this is big-time motivation for me to lose weight to be able to go back to the tropics again and do my bit for the Lord and to serve the Liberian people to train and educate Liberians to sustain their education and medical needs. Keep walking
