Botswana 2011: Home Health with Holy Cross Hospice

This week I have visited two home health care organizations as well as spent one day in the medical clinic at Princess Marina Hospital. The first home based health care org works in Otse, Ramotswa, and Mogobane, three villages located just out of Gaborone to the south. The second, Holy Cross Hospice, works in Gaborone, and it is at this one that I have spent the most time. I have been performing health assessments on patients in their homes while two other students have done assessments on patients who come in to the facility. My patients have been located mostly in Old Naledi, what is considered the most impoverished neighborhood in Gaborone (though they are currently paving roads there very efficiently, and the government built houses and outhouses for all the residents some time ago - some very positive aspects). The patients I saw are living with TB, HIV, or cancer. Because Holy Cross Hospice is on the brink of losing its funding, as many orgs here seem to be, our underlying goal is to assess patients and screen for who is ready to be discharged from the program and who may need to be referred to another similar program.

The patients who come in to Holy Cross for assessments enjoy the company with other patients as well as two delicious meals during the day. They often work on crafts or even help out by sweeping around the property. Holy Cross has been a highlight of my time here because of the opportunity to perform home health assessments and tailor patient education and needs to life circumstances such as access to water, household cleanliness, and nutrition. -Jaclyn Koucoi