My first day with patients went very well. The outpatient clinic here is actually in the hospital. This provides me with alot of support from multiple other providers as well as the rest of the departments in the hospital such as pharmacy, radiology, and lab. Everyone I work with is more than happy to help and seems to just appreciate me being there.
.JPG) |
| My view for 13 hours a day. |
As expected, I saw many people who were in some sad situations today. What I found most interesting was a conversation with the head of social services. As you can imagine there is great need for social services in this the 49th poorest county in the US. Some of the support needed includes child protective services, elderly assistance, keeping people's electricity on so their oxygen machines work, helping patients and their families get to and from larger hospitals when referred, and so much more. Some funding for these programs comes from the government. Indian Health Services (IHS) is a hospital funded through The Department of Health and Human Services (like a VA Hospital), but doesn't receive funding for all the social services listed. Here is where the tribal government comes in, but the line gets blurred, funding comes in short, and people are left in need with no resources. There are also no long-term care facilities or hospice services on reservations, so family members and primary care providers carry the heavy burden of providing end of life care. It really is a very different world, even different from very poor and rural Alabama and Georgia that I have experienced.
No comments:
Post a Comment