Working in close partnership with the Upper West Akyem District Health Directorate, the Adeiso Health Clinic and Ghanaian and International Health professionals, the Village Health Outreach (VHO) is held every July. VHO provides free medical care for over 1000 people during the week it is implemented every year. To date, we have served over 20,000 people of all ages with free health care. VHO services are conducted by credentialed Ghanaian health care professionals with support from health care providers and non health care providers from other nations.
Village Health Outreach Happens Every July
VHO is held every July for 5 full days of health care services free to all patients. Free health care means:
- Consultation with a Physician, Physician Assistant or Nurse Practitioner
- Services with a nurse
- Maternal/Child Health Specialists
- Laboratory Services
- Pharmacy
- Eye Care
- Nutrition Consultation
- Wound Care
- Counseling
- Health Education
Please contact us if you are interested in helping!
The Concern
Health and nutrition go hand in hand and are major concerns in Okurase. Okurase is a village of subsistence farming. Many children and adults are malnourished. Low nutrition sets the stage for many disease processes or low capacity to fight disease, especially in young children. These areas of concern are worsened by the fact that Okurase is in a high malaria zone and a large percentage of the village residents have to manage multiple infections of malaria each year. Limited health care causes many people to die from small sicknesses that can rapidly escalate. In addition, their way of life puts them at risk for wounds and undiagnosed afflictions that can make life extremely difficult.
The Village Health Outreach Program
After meeting with the village leadership and under their direction, it was decided Project OKURASE would facilitate an annual health outreach.
Patients come to the waiting area and are given a bracelet with a patient ID number. Next they go through registration and intake. Next is triage for blood pressure, weight, height and other important initial checks. Next is visiting the prescriber (physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner). The prescriber may send the patient to a lab and they return with results. After completion of the prescriber visit, patients with prescriptions visit the pharmacy. Some patients will visit the nutritionist for education. Others may see the counselor to help with mental health issues. Pregnant women or women with infants or young children start their visit with the maternal/child health station. Some patients have vision issues and will see the eye care team. After patients have completed their medical visit, they will go to check out.
The VHO is a very valued program to the village leadership and residents. Many lives have been saved over the years.
At VHO we take the opportunity to inspire local school children with tours. The VHO is also an opportunity for high school or university students who are interested in the health fields to learn. We have had a number of university undergraduate students decide to go to medical or nursing programs based on their experience with VHO and learning about global health. In turn, some of our local VHO volunteers from Ghana have gone on to graduate programs and we have supported them with letters of support.
We value the VHO as a time of learning, information exchange and inspiring people.
Prevention services will focus on 4 areas:
- ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANLINESS: The community has few resources for managing waste; As well as, Ghana has one of the highest deforestation rates in Africa. Deforestation affects air quality, weather, water sources, and food supplies. Tree planting and use of organic methods in growing food have been identified as important methods to combat climate change.
- WOMEN AND GIRL’S HEALTH: Women’s health care is sometimes challenging in rural Ghana due to low resources and lack of information.
- FOOD AND PERSONAL SAFETY FROM DISEASE PROCESSES: Prevention of disease processes need emphasis.
- READING AND DEVELOPMENT: Many children do not have opportunities to participate in reading activities to increase knowledge and cognitive development.
Benefits
Way Forward
To date we have not had the resources needed to provide dental care and have a goal to try to include dentistry.
How You Can Help
There are many ways you can help support the Village Health Outreach Program this year:
- donate children’s books
- donate funds for trees
- join us and participate in the VHO - both medical and non-medical personnel are needed
- support the travel of another person who would like to come but is unable to do so financially
- donate funds toward the event
- Click here to Register Now for this year's VHO Program.
