Community Clinic Seccion San Jose

Sección San Jose is an impoverished town on the outskirts of Baní in the southwest section of the Dominican Republic. It is a town teeming with motorcycles, chickens, and barefoot children running through its dirt streets. Although the majority of the population lives in poverty they have been incredibly successful in mobilizing resources for their community.

Sección San Jose is home to an estimated 6,000 people. There are over 1,200 women of reproductive age in the town and a birth rate of 150 births per year. Although the vast majority of pregnant women receive pre-natal care and give birth in hospitals, the maternal mortality rate is eight times higher, and the newborn mortality rate is four times higher, than similarly developed countries. This discrepancy between access and outcomes is related to well-documented deficits in the quality of care provided. There are sources of health care in the area. A small hospital, Villa Fundación (also supported by World Connect), is located five kilometers away. Although five kilometers doesn’t seem like an insurmountable distance to receive health services many of the families in Sección San Jose are unable to afford the $2 dollar motorcycle ride. In an effort to bring services closer to their homes the community approached World Connect in 2006 to support their efforts in meeting a clear gap in available quality preventative health services at the local level.

World Connect and the community addressed the lack of local quality health services by opening a “Healthy Mother and Child Health Clinic”. In the beginning the clinic offered prenatal and newborn services one afternoon a week from a donated space co-located at the local elementary school, Centro Espiritu Santo. An established health committee comprised of community members, in particular the women who would be receiving services, was consulted on what services were needed in their community. Together with World Connect the health committee interviewed and hired a local physician to staff the clinic, serving as an example of community participation for the region. The physicians clinical work is supported by a community health worker, a women elected by the health committee, who is responsible for organizing outreach through home visits. The health committee is incredibly active and involved in the day-to-day operations of the clinic. They continue to meet weekly to discuss health issues and other pertinent issues affecting their community.

The demand for services at the clinic grew rapidly to the point where the clinic now offers services three days a week. To supplement the need the clinic has partnered with the Ministry of Health, who provides them with all of the necessary vaccinations, family planning methods and medications essential to running a quality clinic. Since 2006, the clinic has had over 10,000 patient visits; primarily serving women of reproductive age and children under five. They have also conducted numerous trainings and workshops for community members from preventative programs on HIV/AIDS to the importance of using clean, potable water. They have worked to bring in guest speakers who are experts in the different areas to help them come up with local solutions to their problems.

World Connect no longer runs operations in Sección San Jose, rather we support the health committee through a World Connect Grant that allows them to continue the great services they are providing to the community. There has always been a strong sentiment that the clinic is part of the community and the fact that it is now run by the community is a testament to their dedication and desire to improve the health and wellbeing of the women and children in their community! Over 800 women and children have already been seen at the clinic this year. They deserve to be congratulated for their incredible work, and we are honored to be able to support such an amazing program.

This project was made possible in part through a generous donation in celebration of Paul Guilfoyle’s 50th birthday and his dedication to service and improving the lives of children and their families

 

CRM Donations from Salesforce.com
CRM Solutions for Nonprofits