Monthly Medical Exams at Bolingo
A Bolingo child getting her monthly medical exam, Bolingo Village, Democratic Republic of Congo
We all know the saying, "health is wealth." That reigns true for us at Global Orphan Foundation, especially when it comes to the kids who call Bolingo Village home. When we were planning to open Bolingo Village, we knew that implementing some form of consistent health care was a necessity. We just didn't know what it would look like exactly. Now, several years later, we feel like we've got a good handle on it. One component of our healthcare plan for these kids is monthly medical exams.
Once a month, all the kiddos head down to the clinic where our physician, nurse, and lab technician are waiting. One by one, each child heads over to our nurse, who takes their vitals; height, weight, temperature, oxygen levels, etc. All the basics that inform us of how our kids are growing and developing and that their bodies are functioning well. Next, our nurse moves on to tracking any health or related psychological behaviors like bed-wetting, fatigue, or brief attention span. For our little ones five and under, she uses our MUAC bands around their arms to ensure they're at an excellent nutritional standing. Otherwise (you guys know the drill), it's time for Plumpy'Nut!
Next up is being seen by our physician. Our doctor does a brief physical examination but primarily discusses any symptoms or concerns with the child and foster mom. He will order any lab testing to diagnose suspected illness. Before our physician can prescribe medication for a serious disease like malaria, lab testing or a rapid test is always performed to ensure we're not flippantly prescribing medication. Our lab tech performs the ordered labs, reports it back to our doctor, and the appropriate medication is prescribed. It's a pretty standard system, right?
The thing that's not standard about our medical exams is the frequency. Why do we have them once a month, rather than once a year like here in the U.S.? Let's start with the fact that we're in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Susceptibility to severe disease is more common. Exposure to less severe illnesses that can often go unnoticed unless seen by a doctor, like tapeworms or dehydration, is also more likely. The following reason is so that we can measure the children's growth. We want to see how much weight and height they've gained from month to month, especially in the first few months after moving in. The last reason is pretty simple; these children have been entrusted in our care. We want to say we have been doing every single thing we can to ensure that they are healthy and thriving.