Working towards Health Equity and Access in Rural Nepal
Posted in Logistics and Management, Patient Stories on Mar 21st, 2010
Posted by Dr. Susan Warren “Bayalpata drowns in the tears of its women.” – unknown Achhami poet, quoted by clinician “A woman might get married at age 12. She gets pregnant right away and hopes for a son. The women work hard and the husband is away most of the time for jobs. He spends [...]
Posted in Patient Stories, Reports, Social Justice and Health, Uncategorized on Dec 10th, 2009
Posted by Dan Schwarz “I have seven girls. I had one boy but he died when he was very young. I’ve been to Dhangadi two times before [for ultrasound diagnostics] but both times they were girls and I got rid of them.” -Excerpted from Dr. Ruma Rajbhandari’s new article in The Nepali Times In the United [...]
Posted in Patient Stories, Social Justice and Health on Nov 19th, 2009
Posted by Dan Schwarz, following conversations with Ruma Rajbhandari In a blog post last month (“Severe Storms in Achham”), we related the story of a two year old girl who had suffered a traumatic head injury after falling from a height of one storey. At the time, we were happy to report that, despite an [...]
Posted in Patient Stories, Social Justice and Health on Sep 1st, 2009
Posted by Bibhav Acharya One of Nyaya Health’s board members, Bibhav Acharya, reflects on a patient’s story from the summer of 2008. She went into cardiac arrest as she was carried into the clinic. The men carrying her said she had been bitten by a snake. We put everything on hold and rushed to assist [...]
Posted in Patient Stories on Aug 18th, 2009
Posted by Piali Mukhopadhyay and Astha Ramaiya Nyaya’s medical team has encountered a substantial number of fall injuries over the course of its operation in Sanfe Bagar and now Bayalpata Hospital. Such injuries are common in Achham due to the mountainous geography and poor road infrastructure. Most residents must navigate the challenging terrain on a [...]
Posted in Patient Stories on Jul 5th, 2009
Posted by Piali Mukhopadhyay, as told to her by Dr. Jhapat Thapa Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a debilitating condition that takes a severe toll on those it afflicts. Common causes of COPD in developing country settings include smoking and exposure to indoor air pollution; the latter is often associated with stoves that burn [...]
Posted in Patient Stories on Jun 27th, 2009
Posted by Sushant Wagley, as told to him by Dr. Jhapat Thapa Recently, 27-year old man, accompanied by his father, came to Bayalpata Hospital to visit our outpatient department. They brought along a bag full of prescription medications, old medical charts, and CT images of the young man’s brain. During the check-up, the father informed [...]
Posted in Patient Stories on Jun 24th, 2009
Posted by Sushant Wagley, as told to him by Dr. Jhapat Thapa This evening, a six-year old boy was brought to Bayalpata Hospital after being bitten by a snake on his right leg. The patient, his father, and another relative walked for 3 hours to reach our hospital for treatment. He was our first overnight [...]
Posted in Patient Stories on May 30th, 2009
Posted by Aram Harrow, as told to him by Dr. Aditya Sharma Wherever water treatment and sewer systems are inadequate, people live with the constant risk of diarrhea, typically from bacterial infection. Diarrhea is most dangerous to young children, and (after pneumonia) is the second most common cause of infant death worldwide. For adults, even lifelong [...]
Posted in Patient Stories on May 21st, 2009
Posted by Aram Harrow, as told to him by Dr. Aditya Sharma Two months ago, a four-year old girl accidentally knocked over a pot of hot oil, which left her with burns on her face and scalp. The story of her treatment illustrates both the urgent need for accessible healthcare that Nyaya Health addresses, and [...]
Posted in Patient Stories on May 12th, 2009
Posted by Tanya Shah A young boy was recently brought to the Nyaya Health clinic from one of the outlying communities of Achham. The day before, he had fallen out of a tree while playing with other children. He developed pain in his left arm and a large cut in the skin with muscle, tendon, [...]
Posted in Patient Stories on Apr 28th, 2009
Posted by Tanya Shah The decision to refer a patient to a hospital for surgical care is not easy for Nyaya Health providers to make. Â The cost of transportation alone can be prohibitive and surgical services at the referral centers also require significant cash. Â For the average family in Achham, this can mean more than [...]
Posted in Patient Stories on Apr 22nd, 2009
Posted by Tanya Shah Last year, a 19-year-old female came to the Nyaya Health clinic with symptoms consistent with a bladder infection. However, she appeared to be unusually ill for what is normally a simple infection to treat and cure. Further testing in our laboratory revealed that she had insulin-dependent (Type I) diabetes. Partly due [...]
Posted in Patient Stories on Apr 13th, 2009
Posted by Tanya Shah Eight months ago, a 74-year old man who lives near the Nyaya Health clinic came to our out-patient department because he was feeling ill. Upon performing a physical exam, he was diagnosed with high blood pressure. Through a series of lab tests using the I-Stat machine, the patient was found to [...]
Posted in Patient Stories, Social Justice and Health on Jan 22nd, 2009
Posted by Shefali Oza, as told to her by Dr. Jhapat Bahadur Thapa, MBBS We recently had a 35-year old female come to our clinic for an antenatal clinic visit. She was pregnant with her seventh child. Of the previous six, only the first had survived. Four others were stillborn and one died on the [...]