Members of the US RHCI team are returning to Sierra Leone! After a long absence due to the COVID pandemic, a team including our Medical Program Director, Dr. Carol Nelson, MD, and Board Member and Epidemiologist, Julie Hoffer, will be departing for Tikonko on March 18.
During their trip, the US team will be working with our dedicated staff in Sierra Leone to improve and expand our services, and to re-connect with medical staff at the local health clinics and hospitals.
Below is more detail surrounding the work the team will doing while on the ground in Sierra Leone.
OB ultrasound program will be launched in partnership with the Community Health Clinics (CHCs). RHCI staff and midwives from the Tikonko and Gondama Community Health Clinics will be trained in basic OB ultrasound. They will identify conditions that could require advanced care for labor and delivery such as multiple births and other conditions. They will also be trained in gestational dating. Volunteer, Inna Vyazhevich, will be traveling with our team to train five people; three remote training sessions have been held prior to the trip. Two ultrasound devices and iPads will be sent for implementing this program. The ultrasound results will be transmitted to the US where they will be interpreted by a Radiologist or Obstetrician.
Partner meetings at CHCs and PHUs including Bo Children’s Hospital and Mercy Hospital: Visits will be held in Tikonko, Gondama, Kassama, and Sembehun Tabema. Equipment, supplies, and medications will be provided.
Monitoring and Evaluation: Updates to data collection tools and databases and staff training. Results of the 2021 program evaluation on birth waiting homes, motorbike outreach, and stakeholders will be presented to in-country staff.
Nutrition Program: Planning for Community Health Worker (CHW) training. Implementation of a quality improvement project. Work on a new phase of the program that completes a hospital outpatient evaluation of enrolled children who have not shown improvement 4+ months after enrollment.
We wish our RHCI team safe travels, and we look forward to providing an update on their visit!