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IT was a day of reflection, frank and open discussions and thanks, as the Bara-Cara Health Centre reviewed its performance over the last year and presented its report to the members of the community and the administration of the Berbice Regional Health Authority. Bara-Cara Health Centre, established decades ago, is to see improvements to its infrastructure, receive a small generator and other inputs to boost the service offered to residents in the upper reaches of the Canje River.
During a recent visit to the community, Chief Executive Officer of the Berbice Regional Health Authority [BRHA], Dr. Vishwa Mahadeo, reminded residents that estimates have already been submitted for works to be executed on the facility which offers housing to the medex stationed there. Dr. Mahadeo was at the time addressing over 75 residents assembled at the Health Centre to observe its consecutive ‘Health Centre Day’.
Communities upstream the Corentyne and Canje Rivers have benefited immensely from interventions and development in health care delivery and other services. Bara-Cara, some 50 miles upstream, on the left bank of the Canje River, just over a year ago received a new outboard engine and fiber glass boat which is attached to the health centre. The facility, which was erected in the 1960s, under the direction of then Minister of Health, Ms Janet Jagan, continues to serve the farming/logging community that sprung up more than 100 years ago, sitting on both banks of the Canje River about two hours speed boat drive from New Amsterdam.
In a brief address to the gathering, Senior Health Visitor Terry Davis congratulated the community for the improvements observed around the facility since her previous visit one year ago. A fully trained midwife who is receiving hands-on experience at the New Amsterdam Health Centre will return to the community later in the year, promised Davis. According to Davis, the midwife is completing the last lap of her training under supervision and she will then return to serve within months after completing two years of rigid training, both theoretical and practical.
Davis told residents that the Berbice Health Authority intends to provide such level of service in Bara-Cara that residents would not be forced to travel 50 miles by boat to access services in New Amsterdam. The residents were urged to utilize the services of the medex, two community workers and soon to be posted midwife.
Medex Carl Amsterdam, delivering a report, reminded the community of the services offered at the facility and listed the major events in the past year. The facility also serves two satellite communities along the same river, Tacoba and Ikruwa, with a combined fluctuating population of about 750. The health centre provided all the services that are necessary and delivered by other similar facilities across the region for the people of Bara-Cara. Some 15 outreaches were conducted in the satellite communities with all the services extended to the residents with well over 1,000 outpatient contacts during the period. In the ante and post natal programme, sixteen deliveries from 18 admissions were successfully done. One ectopic pregnancy was diagnosed and rushed out to the New Amsterdam Hospital where successful surgery was performed.
In the area of administration, the community was able to establish a Health Management Committee which was instrumental in the proper delivery of services to the residents. Support from the committee saw the establishing of a proper facility at Ikruwa, where the community is now able to host medical outreach programmes in a private manner. A concrete pathway was also laid at the entrance of the Bara-Cara Health Centre through the support of the Management Committee, disclosed Amsterdam. Looking forward, there are plans to complete the potable water supply system to which there are two 400 gallon tanks standing on a trestle at the health centre, while a boathouse is to be erected at the adjacent stelling to moor and secure the boat and engine donated to the community. Also among the proposals for 2013 is the completion of a shed adjoining the health centre plus refurbishing of the sanitary system at Ikruwa.
CEO of the Berbice Regional Health Authority, Dr. Vishwa Mahadeo, challenged health workers to move the vaccination coverage from the high nineties to full coverage, since the community is small. According to Dr. Mahadeo, diseases such as mumps, measles and rubella must be kept under control and residents should ensure that they are immunized. The residents were advised of some of the permanent long term effects of not being vaccinated against certain diseases. The health centre was urged to submit a proposal to transform the facility into a youth friendly environment, and Dr. Mahadeo committed to supporting the venture. The medex and staff came in for high praise for identifying the ectopic pregnancy because it was critical for the survival of the mother. The staff was also admonished and directed how to document and record activities to accurately reflect the volume of work done. The management committee of Bara-Cara received accolades for the noble support to the people of the community.
Request from Community
Residents requested a generator for the Health Centre to allow the facility to be powered when needed at nights. A request for a designated boatman was also thrown in to help the medex when transporting a patient to New Amsterdam Hospital, with an alternative suggestion that other staff of the health centre learn to drive the boat, or others in the community volunteer. On the issue of the generator, he committed to help, but until after the 2013 National Budget, since it’s in the work plan but will have to be approved. This publication was told that the health centre was powered by a solar system previously but it was stolen.
Up to recently, Bara-Cara only had one community health worker , a second was subsequently added, and in 2010, one was offered additional training, while a medex was stationed at the facility for the first time in many years. A team of medical professionals would visit Bara-Cara shortly to care for diabetic patients and help with foot care, along with staff from the Ophthalmology Centre to do screening.
Other rural health facilities such as Orealla and Siparuta have also been experiencing improvements with both communities in the Corentyne River benefitting from renovated health facilities last year. However, while there is one midwife at Orealla and a health worker at both locations, the search is on to replace a medex that recently retired.
During a recent visit to the community, Chief Executive Officer of the Berbice Regional Health Authority [BRHA], Dr. Vishwa Mahadeo, reminded residents that estimates have already been submitted for works to be executed on the facility which offers housing to the medex stationed there. Dr. Mahadeo was at the time addressing over 75 residents assembled at the Health Centre to observe its consecutive ‘Health Centre Day’.
Communities upstream the Corentyne and Canje Rivers have benefited immensely from interventions and development in health care delivery and other services. Bara-Cara, some 50 miles upstream, on the left bank of the Canje River, just over a year ago received a new outboard engine and fiber glass boat which is attached to the health centre. The facility, which was erected in the 1960s, under the direction of then Minister of Health, Ms Janet Jagan, continues to serve the farming/logging community that sprung up more than 100 years ago, sitting on both banks of the Canje River about two hours speed boat drive from New Amsterdam.
In a brief address to the gathering, Senior Health Visitor Terry Davis congratulated the community for the improvements observed around the facility since her previous visit one year ago. A fully trained midwife who is receiving hands-on experience at the New Amsterdam Health Centre will return to the community later in the year, promised Davis. According to Davis, the midwife is completing the last lap of her training under supervision and she will then return to serve within months after completing two years of rigid training, both theoretical and practical.
Davis told residents that the Berbice Health Authority intends to provide such level of service in Bara-Cara that residents would not be forced to travel 50 miles by boat to access services in New Amsterdam. The residents were urged to utilize the services of the medex, two community workers and soon to be posted midwife.
Medex Carl Amsterdam, delivering a report, reminded the community of the services offered at the facility and listed the major events in the past year. The facility also serves two satellite communities along the same river, Tacoba and Ikruwa, with a combined fluctuating population of about 750. The health centre provided all the services that are necessary and delivered by other similar facilities across the region for the people of Bara-Cara. Some 15 outreaches were conducted in the satellite communities with all the services extended to the residents with well over 1,000 outpatient contacts during the period. In the ante and post natal programme, sixteen deliveries from 18 admissions were successfully done. One ectopic pregnancy was diagnosed and rushed out to the New Amsterdam Hospital where successful surgery was performed.
In the area of administration, the community was able to establish a Health Management Committee which was instrumental in the proper delivery of services to the residents. Support from the committee saw the establishing of a proper facility at Ikruwa, where the community is now able to host medical outreach programmes in a private manner. A concrete pathway was also laid at the entrance of the Bara-Cara Health Centre through the support of the Management Committee, disclosed Amsterdam. Looking forward, there are plans to complete the potable water supply system to which there are two 400 gallon tanks standing on a trestle at the health centre, while a boathouse is to be erected at the adjacent stelling to moor and secure the boat and engine donated to the community. Also among the proposals for 2013 is the completion of a shed adjoining the health centre plus refurbishing of the sanitary system at Ikruwa.
CEO of the Berbice Regional Health Authority, Dr. Vishwa Mahadeo, challenged health workers to move the vaccination coverage from the high nineties to full coverage, since the community is small. According to Dr. Mahadeo, diseases such as mumps, measles and rubella must be kept under control and residents should ensure that they are immunized. The residents were advised of some of the permanent long term effects of not being vaccinated against certain diseases. The health centre was urged to submit a proposal to transform the facility into a youth friendly environment, and Dr. Mahadeo committed to supporting the venture. The medex and staff came in for high praise for identifying the ectopic pregnancy because it was critical for the survival of the mother. The staff was also admonished and directed how to document and record activities to accurately reflect the volume of work done. The management committee of Bara-Cara received accolades for the noble support to the people of the community.
Request from Community
Residents requested a generator for the Health Centre to allow the facility to be powered when needed at nights. A request for a designated boatman was also thrown in to help the medex when transporting a patient to New Amsterdam Hospital, with an alternative suggestion that other staff of the health centre learn to drive the boat, or others in the community volunteer. On the issue of the generator, he committed to help, but until after the 2013 National Budget, since it’s in the work plan but will have to be approved. This publication was told that the health centre was powered by a solar system previously but it was stolen.
Up to recently, Bara-Cara only had one community health worker , a second was subsequently added, and in 2010, one was offered additional training, while a medex was stationed at the facility for the first time in many years. A team of medical professionals would visit Bara-Cara shortly to care for diabetic patients and help with foot care, along with staff from the Ophthalmology Centre to do screening.
Other rural health facilities such as Orealla and Siparuta have also been experiencing improvements with both communities in the Corentyne River benefitting from renovated health facilities last year. However, while there is one midwife at Orealla and a health worker at both locations, the search is on to replace a medex that recently retired.
