HopeCore's Maternal and Child Health Clinics - Simple Yet Effective Even During COVID
Measuring head circumference during the mobile Maternal and Child Health Clinic.
How HopeCore continues to bring health services to mothers and babies in rural Kenya during COVID.
What a typical day at a Maternal and Child Health Clinic looks like:
It was a warm and sunny day as we drove an hour on the bumpy dirt roads in the HopeCore vehicles until we arrived at a wooden church in the middle of an open field. The HopeCore team had already begun to set up the mobile clinic. The benches had been pulled out of a church and were lined outside under a tree. About 30 mothers and grandmothers were sitting patiently on the benches with small children strapped to their backs in colorful fabric. The women were listening intently to the Community Health Volunteer from HopeCore, who was providing them with a 1-hour education session on topics such as family planning, nutrition, and what to do if your child gets sick.
Education is the foundation of everything that HopeCore does. Before the free medical services begin, it is important that the patients also receive education on how to prevent disease and illness. After the education session, the assembly line of patient assessment and treatment begins. It feels like an assembly line because the HopeCore health teams are constantly operating in rural areas with large numbers of people, and so the efficiency with which they are able to see patients is crucial. Watching this team operate, it is clear they have been doing this for many years; they are a well-oiled machine.
The women line up with their children, and the process begins with growth monitoring, checking height, weight, and head circumference in the younger children. The growth numbers are recorded in a small paper book that most women have brought with them. HopeCore also records the numbers of each patient on their Smartphone App, CommCare. This way, they can keep track of the patients, pertinent health data, and offer follow-up if needed.
A young infant gets evaluated for an upper respiratory tract infection
Next is the treatment station. HopeCore has brought a pharmacy of medications in a big plastic bin that they have lined up on the wooden table. Children and parents are assessed by the registered nurse and offered the appropriate treatment or referral if needed, free of charge. Many children on this particular day had been sick for at least a week. In this region of Kenya, the closest health facility was 30 kilometers away, therefore making it a very long walk to receive any medical services.
Children and mothers receive the treatment and their medications free of charge.
As mothers walked away from the morning of education and medical care, there was a sense of reassurance and gratitude on their faces. That particular day, HopeCore provided medications for coughs, diarrhea, and fevers, and also helped remind the mothers of the next immunizations.
What was amazing about this Maternal and Child Health Clinic was that, besides the clinic being outdoors due to COVID, it was orchestrated the exact same way that the MCH clinics have been in the past. The simplicity yet effectiveness of HopeCore’s medical clinics are incredibly impressive and a model that has proven to work, even during the COVID pandemic. It was so rewarding to watch these mothers walk away feeling so grateful for their care.
The MedTreks teams from the United States were honored to join HopeCore during this particular Mobile Clinic. As usual, we were all amazed that HopeCore provides these clinics consistently on a daily basis. The rural communities of Kenya are incredibly lucky to have HopeCore providing these free healthcare services.
Reach out to make a donation specifically to our Maternal and Child Health Program!
HopeCore nurses and MedTreks after a day at the Mobile Maternal and Child Health Clinic.
