– Port Kaituma’s one and only ‘rehab’ assistant

MARISSA Hutson had never really given thought to what career she should pursue and growing up in Port Kaituma, her options were rather limited. But today, she is living her best life ever having stumbled upon a path that she couldn’t be more thankful for.
Marissa, 28, was born at Arakaka, but moved to Port Kaituma, both Region One communities, when she was just a child. It was at Port Kaituma that she completed her secondary education, and took up various jobs afterwards that were readily available there.
While working at the hospital in Port Kaituma one day, the medic on duty drew Marissa’s attention to a vacancy for a rehabilitation assistant with the Ministry of Health. “She told me this would be a good thing for me, so without thinking, I just applied,” Marissa recalled during an interview with the Pepperpot Magazine a few days ago.

Rehabilitation Assistants (RAs), also referred to as occupational therapist assistants (OTAs) and physiotherapist assistants (PTAs), are members of the health care team who work under the supervision of an occupational therapist or a physiotherapist to improve a patient’s quality of life. It involved nursing someone back to good health through various exercises and physical work. It can also mean helping someone with speech problems to be able to speak well again.

Imagine her surprise when she received a call informing her that she had gotten through with the job, and would be trained in the field.

At first, the thought of doing the job was scary to Marissa because she felt that it was a heavy responsibility to take on. “At first I didn’t know anything; I was a slow learner in my class, and now it is people’s lives you’re dealing with, so you have to be careful,” she recalled.

Her job would take in occupational and speech therapy, along with physiotherapy. Most times, Marissa covers these subjects in the classroom, and would then go for practical training at the Georgetown Public Hospital and other medical institutions.
“For me to understand certain things, they explained them in layman terms for me. It was a challenge,” she said, adding, “This was so new to me; I had to take my time and figure things out. At first, when I was told I had to stay back, I sat down with tears because I wanted to go home.”

But eventually, Marissa got the hang of things and became so competent at the job to the point where she is now the only rehabilitation assistant in Port Kaituma. What is more, she has a plan to help patients in several communities outside of Port Kaituma.
“I don’t look only in Port Kaituma, but I would look to help people in lower Port Kaituma, and in the Matakai sub-region which is made up of Baramita, Arakaka and Matthew’s Ridge. So I have a plan that I am working with where I would go on outreaches and then do up my reports,” she explained. “Is nuff work, but I explain everything that patients have to do in layman terms, just as others did for me.”

Marissa started off with more than 30 patients and is now working with about 15. “It depends on the distance the person is coming from and the financial support they are receiving and so forth. I don’t wait for patients to come to me, I go looking for my patients and give them the type of treatment they need,” she said.

The hospital in Port Kaituma has vehicles and bikes that would greatly assist Marissa to reach patients who are in faraway places. “I love my job, I love helping people, and I love serving my area,” Marissa said about the reason she would go the extra mile to reach patients.

Because of the training provided by the Ministry of Health, Marissa has to serve the government until 2021, after which she hopes to enroll at the University of Guyana to pursue studies in physical therapy.

Marissa is grateful to all those who assisted her in becoming competent in her field of work.