Mobile clinic

Here is Dr. Bhavana, an Ayurvedic provider who I accompanied on the mobile clinic - she is standing outside our clinic van, getting set to go.
Here is the nurse and the medical supplies that are in the converted-ambulance.
Here we are assessing a woman who has a diarrheal illness and giving her some treatment, as well as rehydration packets.
These school boys were quite interested in what we were doing - and we needed to treat 2 of them for skin wounds which were infected.
Here I am assessing an old woman, who had come with complaints of stomach burning and cough. She looked quite old, though I suspect she was in her 60s. She had had a stroke previously and walked stooped with a cane. She was quite thankful for our treatment.


Yesterday I went out on a mobile clinic. It involved myself, an Ayurvedic physician, Bhavana, a nurse, a community worker, an aid, and the driver. Our van (see above) was actually quite well out-fitted, complete with a sink, many different types of medications and exam equipment. We went to 10 local tribal communities. The community worker would head out down the row of houses once we arrived, rounding up patients. The driver would sound the "alarm" on the top of the mobile clinic van (converted ambulance) to let everyone know we were there. And slowly people would trickle in to be seen. We saw a total of 30 patients, with a few of the communities not having any patients because everyone was out working in the fields when we were there. Mostly, our patients were women and children.

It was fascinating work for me. Bhavana speaks wonderful English, so she and I saw the patients together and discussed what we thought was going on and what we could do for them. The nurse doled out the medications, while the aid took notes, wrote prescriptions (so the patients would know how to take the medications, though I think it was more a formality, as I doubt most of the patients can read, let alone read English, which is the language of medicine in India) and collected money for our services. The tribal patients were changed 2 rupees (about $0.04 US) if they were given any form of medication. If they were not given medication, they were not charged. We gave out meds for colds, upper respiratory infections, gastritis, bronchitis, arthritis, sprains and strains, skin infections, diarrheal illnesses, headaches, dizziness, anemia, malnutrition, and dehydration. We also checking in with any TB patients that were in the communities, assessing any barriers to them taking their daily medications. We also tried to register and see any pregnant moms, and did give a few referrals for patients to be seen in the hospital.

I loved the work. Being with the community people, seeing their struggles and doing my best to help treat their illnesses was incredibly rewarding. The children are precious and their mom's shy, but concerned about their well-fare. Everyone was incredibly appreciative of the care we provided them. SVYM sends out mobile clinics 6 days/week, and visits different communities everyday. There are between 120-140 tribal communities in the surrounding areas, and SVYM attempts to have contact with as many of these as possible. Outstanding work.