Day 8 of Travel

I have experience nothing but generosity this week. Everyone I am in contact with was beyond willing to share their knowledge about this culture and healthcare system with me. They made sure that we felt comfortable in this new environment and that we were able to learn as much as possible. When I came here, I was afraid that I would offend someone or overstep my bounds, and they made sure that nothing that I did or said would offend someone. The healthcare system here is designed for the needs of this culture to make for a healthier future and generation. They have dealt with a constant struggle in access to healthcare because of distance, money, or availability. They have designed their healthcare system so that all their services serve this culture, what they need, and they have made it so that all of it is under one roof. Having these services so readily available is important because if you look at how this culture has been going, it has been like a circle, with unhealthy habits being taught to future generations. If these upcoming generations are taught about these services and how to be healthier, they can pass this on and instead of a broken circle being passed on, it will be a complete one. One thing that was a little out of my comfort zone was Kanvowtiyi Treatment Center. When it comes to mental health, I can be unsure what I should do. I do not want to do something to offend someone or hinder their healing process. I have learned that they most are not bothered by our presence and do not mind telling their story. When going back to my first blog I do believe that I was able to learn a lot about this community. This was a very eye-opening experience for me. I thought that I was going to come here and see how these people are struggling with things like addiction and poverty and that maybe resources that we have could help this community. I learned that they have all of the resources available already, but a lot of people do not use them either due to lack of trust in the healthcare system, or lack of wanting to get help. I have learned that they way that they do things is how I wish our healthcare system was set up. I knew that I had a lot to learn, but I never realized just how much. This experience has made me think about all the things that I can try and do in my own job when it comes to helping patients by just being more attentive to their needs.

Day 7 of Travel

The issue that I have heard about the most is the drug/alcohol addiction issue that is prevalent in the community. Not only do staff members deal with drug and alcohol addiction in the emergency room, it is also something they need to learn how to deal with in the inpatient setting. I have heard that if you want to work on the inpatient floor you also need to know how to handle someone who is going through withdrawal. This issue is something that is tearing the community apart. They value family and the drug/alcohol problem that is going on is breaking up families and making it so that parents are not seeing their children for years. Another prevalent condition I noticed was the diabetes problem. This culture is more prone to be a diabetic due to their genetics. The food that has been introduced to their culture is making it so that diabetes is becoming a bigger part of their community. When I was in the ER, the team lead was explaining to us that people would come in with blood sugars in the 700s and for some they would not be showing the symptoms you would typically see in someone who has a blood sugar that is that high. I know that there is a lot of education that needs to happen in this community. There was one patient that I was speaking with that did not understand why he needed to eat wheat bread instead of white bread to help to maintain the sugars that he is consuming. This also leads to the nurses doing a lot of wound care, because those who are diabetic have poor circulation and wound healing. The nurse’s role is by making sure that the people that they are seeing are educated. When it comes to diabetes it is important that the patient understands what a proper diet is. They also need to make sure when educating these patients that they are teaching them about the importance of foot care. With these patients once they get a sore on their foot it can be difficult to heal and a lot of the time it does end up in that person requiring an amputation. One of the nurses I spoke with told me that once they have a below the knee amputation on one leg that they are at higher risk of amputation of the other leg in the next two years. The center of this healthcare system is completely centered around the patient. I had stated in an earlier post that it is all about the patient and not the pocketbook. This is a statement I have never heard someone say before. I know that places do want patient satisfaction, but I feel that the way that it is implemented here is truly about the patient and community. They believe that with happier staff, they have happier patients, which in the end leads to a healthier community. They speak with the community and patients to find out what they can do better, and they truly implement the recommendations.

Day 6 of Travel

When entering this hospital one of the first things I learned was they serve eighteen counties. With this being the only hospital that sees children in the area they see many different cultures and levels of income. This also means that a lot of these families must come from a far distance to get medical attention for their children. This can put a strain on the family, because if they have children at home that they need to care for they may have to leave their child in the hospital to be cared for and not be able to be there. I think it is awesome how they have set up the rooms to encourage the parents to stay with their children. They also have rooms in the hospital that the parents can stay in if their child is in the NICU. There is a house for the whole hospital that has a family wing so that parents who live out of county can stay near by to see their child. In my experience with a children’s wing, in clinical at Methodist, only has 5 beds for children and sometimes they do not have patients and actually shut the wing down. I have had the experience of going to OSF and having my child admitted there and I will say that I noticed many similarities. One difference that I noticed and wished that I had experienced is how they do their rounds. They realized how intimidating it can be for a parent to have a group of people come and talk about their child. They made it so that the parents and the care team can sit down and speak only about their child and allows the parent to ask any questions they may have regarding the care of their child. The one thing that stood out to me was the Reuter Mission Children’s Hospital Outreach. This is a place for children to go to get all the care that they need by making sure that they have all services under one roof. The offer services like dental, physical therapy, and have a whole area dedicated for those who many have developmental delays. When we were doing the tour, Ashley was telling us about how they have made it so that can do less invasive procedures. For example, they have goggles that they place on children so that they can watch a movie and hold still instead of placing them under sedation. She said something that really stuck with me, “It is all about the patient, not the pocketbook”. They want to do what is best for the patient and not what will make the most money. The part that had the biggest impact on me was their child abuse/neglect section. When you walk into this part of the building, it is a locked unit, the first thing you see if paint hand prints everywhere. These were in the hand prints of all the victims that had come through the clinic. I was not ready that when we walked into the back where the exam rooms where how many hand prints were back there. It was a very powerful imagine and I just could not imagine how many of these kids that have had to go through this can of pain, and how these are the children who have just gotten help.