We get used to things….

02-08-2012

Which is not necessarily a good thing.

Today we were finishing rounds and Will noted workmen were replacing glass in a number of broken windows today.   Randy (I think) aptly noted to Dr. Saga, that to help keep morale up, things like the broken windows need to be replaced.  How true. 

I noticed them the first time I made rounds, but quickly got used to seeing them.  Many of them were hazardous, as Laura B. pointed out, with many jagged edges.  With children running around there was a true potential for injury.

Laura also noticed that not all the beds have nets and many of the windows do not have screens.  Except for the broken ones, the windows do have glass, but they remain open because it is simply too warm, even at night to close them.  They need screens.

I was looking at the walls and cement floors and thought how each could use a coat of paint.  The gray of the floors keep the general ambience drab, despite the worn but pleasant yellow walls.  Joann Sjogren asked me before I left to Tanzania about sheets for the beds.  All I could remember was that patients use colorful kangas as covers.  I am pretty sure they use their own kangas.  Joann, I did notice they use white bottom sheets on the mattresses.  These all have someone else’s logos or names on them.  They are the heavy, industrial kind of sheets. Today on one of the wards, most of the men had gone home and the sheets stripped, exposing the torn rubberized mattress covers, some of which barely hold together.  All of the beds are old-fashioned.  Nothing wrong with that.  They are reliable and simple to use.  But many have multiple coats of chipping paint.  And some are the simplest of metal frames with wooden slats.

Now I remember why a visit to Tanzania is a life-changing experience.

Of course there are many priorities ahead of these things, especially the care of patients.  Our students have done a marvelous job with their presentations – I know I said it before, but it cannot be overstated with this fine group of people.  I am sure that the pharmacy students will come back as faculty (assuming they get a passing grade from the old faculty member here, which seems highly likely).

On Friday, I get to speak to the doctors and nurses myself, this time about malnutrition and our hopes for the use of RUTF (Ready to Use Therapeutic Food, in case I haven’t pounded it in hard enough!).  I will have ten minutes to describe the protocol.  All the doctors and nurses I have talked to are aware of the need and are enthusiastic.  The main problem will be the cost of keeping the RUTF in stock.