Working towards Health Equity and Access in Rural Nepal
Posted in Patient Stories on Feb 5th, 2012
Posted by Duncan Maru A middle-aged woman presented with abdominal pain, bloating, and vaginal bleeding. A few years ago, she had had some gynecologic surgery in India where her son was working. They had no records of the procedure, nor did they know of what precisely the surgery had entailed. She had suffered no fever or weight loss. Our [...]
Posted in Patient Stories, Social Justice and Health on Jan 14th, 2012
Posted by Duncan Maru In Boston, I often see patients bounced around from one hospital or specialist to another. It is a bit surprising to see this happen here in Achham, where the main challenge is a dearth of clinicians and hospitals, rather than an excess of them. A sixty year old woman had been [...]
Posted in Patient Stories, Social Justice and Health on Dec 31st, 2011
Posted by Duncan Maru A five-year-old boy presented with five days of dark-colored urine, swelling around his eyelids, and a recent rash over his left lower leg that itself had started over three weeks ago. He lived relatively closer than many patients, a one and a half hour walk from Bayalpata. He was brought in [...]
Posted in Patient Stories, Social Justice and Health on Dec 27th, 2011
Posted by Duncan Maru A baby boy died at 36 hours of life. I had first heard about him back at the staff quarters at around midnight, when a seven month pregnant woman had just given birth in the bathroom. He was small, 1.5 kg. His heart rate was very slow, and we started bag-mask [...]
Posted in Patient Stories, Social Justice and Health on Dec 24th, 2011
Posted by Duncan Maru “We’re just going for a walk down the hill.” As he passed by me, I saw a sense of pride and almost playfulness in the father’s eyes. He seemed to relish going for a walk with his daughter on a beautiful spring day in Achham. I had met his daughter, sixteen [...]
Posted in Patient Stories, Social Justice and Health on Dec 20th, 2011
Posted by Duncan Maru This week, a 70-year-old woman with emphysema and heart failure was admitted to Bayalpata Hospital with shortness of breath and limited ability to walk, likely related to heart failure. She had murmurs indicative of aortic and tricuspid valve insufficiency. Based on an echocardiogram (ultrasound) performed by our Health Assistant Uday Kshatriya [...]
Posted in Patient Stories, Social Justice and Health on Nov 13th, 2011
Posted by Duncan Maru [This poem was written by Duncan Maru, co-founder and President of Nyaya Health.] You have come to me for a busted toe, an accident, you say. Dressed in your loose black shirt with a large Christian cross on it, grey sagging sweat pants. Your face, round, youthful, inquisitive, impresses [...]
Posted in Patient Stories on Jul 19th, 2011
Posted by Ruma Rajbhandari It was around 7pm on a weekday at Bayalpata when our nightguard, Naresh dai, came running to fetch the doctor on call, “Bullit, bullit! Dr. Saab.” At first, we all thought someone with a bullet injury had come to the hospital. On further clarification, we learned that a woman who had been hit by [...]
Posted in Patient Stories, Social Justice and Health on Jul 8th, 2011
Posted by Duncan Maru Recently, a 17 year old man fell about 10 meters from a tree, sustaining fatal injuries. After three hours in transit, he was brought almost certainly dead on arrival by our ambulance. Our medical team performed basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation on this gentleman, though we were sadly unable to bring him back [...]
Posted in Patient Stories, Social Justice and Health on Jul 4th, 2011
Posted by Micheal Polifka This post was written by Dr. Michael Polifka, Nyaya team volunteer, as a personal journal entry during a recent trip to Bayalpata Hospital in Achham, Nepal. The varying amounts of moisture in the air (from a lot to more) coupled with the winds that circulate around the hilltops makes for constantly [...]
Posted in Patient Stories, Social Justice and Health on Jun 24th, 2011
Posted by Micheal Polifka This post was written by Dr. Michael Polifka, Nyaya team volunteer, as a personal journal entry during a recent trip to Bayalpata Hospital in Achham, Nepal. The monsoon season started almost a month early this year. The evenings cool down a bit and so sleeping under my mosquito net is comfortable. About midnight [...]
Posted in Patient Stories, Social Justice and Health on Jun 10th, 2011
Posted by Duncan Maru Recently, Dr. Bikash visited one of his patients with tuberculosis who did not make it to the hospital for his scheduled visit. He needed adherence counseling, an HIV test, and sputum investigation. Fortunately, he lives within an hour of the hospital. After outpatient clinic, Dr. Bikash and I motorbiked and walked [...]
Posted in Patient Stories, Social Justice and Health on May 19th, 2011
Hardwick Gazette has featured Dr. Mark Lichtestein and Cynthia West’s work in Nepal. The article outlines the the author’s views on the Nepali language, culture and perception of health conditions amongst the population of Achham. Tweet This Post
Posted in Patient Stories, Social Justice and Health on Mar 24th, 2011
Posted by Sushant Wagley The following video is part of a series focusing on the everyday undertakings at Bayalpata Hospital. Ranging from provider-patient interviews to tours of the Bayalpata Hospital complex, this video series hopes to give a glimpse into the successes, challenges, and experiences of the dedicated Nyaya Health team in Achham. Staff at [...]
Posted in Patient Stories on Mar 3rd, 2011
Posted by Duncan Maru Note: The following post has graphic content The call came into Dilidai, our ambulance driver. A man from a village about six hours away had been bitten by a bear while collecting wood. Members of his village had carried down to Sanfebagar, where he was now awaiting the ambulance. His leg [...]