THE Ministry of Public Health’s Rehabilitation Department launched ‘Rehab Week 2019’ on Sunday with a prayer breakfast at the Umana Yana.

The week of activities, which will conclude on Friday, is intended to raise awareness on the services being offered by the Department, and how persons in the various regions across Guyana can access them.

Director of Disability and Rehabilitation at the Ministry of Public Health, Ms. Ariane Mangar, told the Guyana Chronicle Sunday afternoon that the Department will conduct various school outreaches today.

All five nursery schools on the island of Wakenaam, in the Essequibo River, will be visited, along with five more along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway. According to Mangar, the teams will be able to screen the children for any deficiencies that they might have.

Tomorrow, a team-building workshop will be held for staff of the ‘Rehab Services Department’ at the Palm Court, while on Wednesday, a charitable event will be held at the Cheshire Home, at Mahaica.

Mangar said that staff of the said Department pooled their financial resources to buy two washing machines, a television set, and some fans and radios for the benefit of those at the Cheshire Home.

According to her, on Thursday and Friday, the 31 ‘rehab’ departments across the country will host ‘Open Days’, where residents can simply turn up and receive whatever help they need.

The Palms ‘Rehab’ Department is mainly a neuro-clinic, and has as its main focus the rehabilitation of the spinal cord, while providing therapy for persons who may have had a stroke, traumatic injuries or conditions such as Guillain-Barre Syndrome and multiple sclerosis.

The services at the Department also cover three specialities: Physio-Therapy; Occupational Therapy, and Speech and Language Therapy.

Director of Rehabilitation Services of the Health Ministry, Barbara Lawrence, had said that ‘Rehab Week’ has been celebrated annually since 2003, and that the main purpose of it is to raise awareness about the services that are being offered across the country by the ministry.