SCU Global Medical Brigades trip to GHANA

End Date: Mar 23, 2013 12:00 AM

Each year Global Brigades mobilizes thousands of university students around the world to participate in nine different programs to improve the heath and quality of life in under-resourced communities. Through student volunteers, Global Medical Brigades encompasses both the immediate need for action and long-term sustainable projects. Over the past five years, the Santa Clara Global Medical Brigades students have provided health care to over 3,500 patients. Global Medical Brigades provides students unique opportunities in medicine, culture and service while simultaneously providing healthcare to under resourced communities that would otherwise not have access to these resources. Most importantly, Global Medical Brigades fully embraces the Jesuit practice of service and social justice. A 10 day Medical + Public Health Brigade provides volunteers with the opportunity to make an impact on communities while gaining real life experience in the field of international medicine. Prior to travel, we will collect medicines, recruit health professionals and fundraise. Once in Ghana, our team will visit our partner community to administer a 4 day-long clinic and conduct health workshops. The mobile clinic has five stations: intake (recording patient demographic information), triage (collecting main complaints and vitals), consultations (shadowing doctors as they diagnose and prescribe), pharmacy (filling prescriptions), and education (delivering workshops on preventive healthcare). In the evenings prior to each brigade, groups learn from local doctors about the health needs of the specific communities, organize medicine, and delegate duties for the next day. At the end of the medical portion, volunteers then have a chance to lead public health initiatives with water filtration units, mosquito nets, and public health education.