CURRENT REPORT ON NURSING SCHOOL

 

During 2009 we had 9 students from the local community doing the Auxiliary Nurse’s Course. A few of them really struggled academically for most of the year but their passion and commitment to Jesus and their patients never wavered. The ward sisters often commented on the exceptional care that they showed to their patients. This group of students did their course over 15 months, and wrote their final Nursing Council examination on the 26^th of March this year.

 

 

 

 

In January we had a new group of 11 who started their nurse’s training. March 2010 was their first exposure in the Rob Ferreira wards. The shocking state of some of the wards and the poor nursing care rendered by the government employed nurses was initially hard to adjust to, but they seem to have found their feet and are enjoying the opportunity to finally care for patients. By their second week on the ward one of the nurses has already had the opportunity of leading a patient to Jesus.

NURSING SCHOOL BUILDING PROJECT

 

The ASM Nursing School has always been small with the auxiliary nurse’s class varying between eight to ten students a year. With an ever increasing demand for auxiliary nurse’s training ASM has been seeking friends who would partner with them and assist with building a bigger training centre. With generous donations received in 2008 and 2009 from four Trust Funds we were finally able to start building a larger nurses training facility in October 2009. The new facility has a large lecture hall that has been designed with adequate space to set up a simulation laboratory at the back for clinical training. It also has a library and computer centre for the students. On Friday the 19^th of March we had a lovely service honouring God for His wonderful provision and dedicating the staff, students and building to the Lord.

 

 

ASM HEALTH CLINICS

 

The ASM School of Health has been offering health care to remote rural areas since 1990. This includes a Mobile Clinic service that is rendered once a week on Wednesdays. Initially the Mobile Clinic was taken to a remote rural village but in December 1999 this work was handed over the local health department who opened a fixed clinic there that is now open from Mondays to Saturdays. In March 2000 the ASM nurses started a taking the Mobile Clinic to a farming community near Hazyview. The farm labourers and their dependants are very poor and the farms are situated about 25 – 40 km from the nearest government health clinic. The Mobile Clinic therefore renders an essential weekly health service close to where the people live and work. Before the Mobile Clinic visited there many of the people had to wait till month end before they were able to seek medical help. The government nurses do visit these farms once a month (most months) to immunize the children. They also offer contraception and antenatal care from their mobile clinic service.

 

In May 2002 ASM opened a fixed or stationary clinic that serves the different missionary organizations in the area and the local people who live in close proximity to ASM. However the word has spread about the excellent standard of care that patients receive at the ASM Clinic. Now patients come from as far away as Acornhoek, Komatiepoort and even Badplaas (100km or more) to attend the ASM Clinic. The fixed clinic also serves as the hub from where the Mobile Clinic and Nursing School are run from.

 

Although the services of the Mobile Clinic was originally offered in partnership with a Regional Health Department, since 2001 ASM has received no assistance whatsoever from the Department of Health to run these health facilities. All the funding required to purchase medical supplies, medicines and other basic running costs has come from donors. The Discovery Fund has played a major role in supporting the ASM Clinics while other very valuable support has come from churches and Christian Organizations that have partnered with ASM. The professional nurses and other staff in the clinic do not receive market related salaries. Some come fully supported while others receive some support and need to the raise the balance of their support themselves. All this helps to keep the overall running costs of the clinics and nursing school down. Year by year we see how God miraculously provides the staff and finances for the Clinics to render health care of an excellent standard to the local people.

 

Currently the ASM Clinics offer a comprehensive primary health care service that includes all of the following:

 

• Acute medical care of adults and children

 

• Chronic medical care of adults and children

 

• Well and sick baby care

 

• Antenatal care

 

• Contraception

 

• Basic health screening

 

• Acute and chronic wound care

 

• Voluntary HIV counseling and testing

 

• Support for people with stage I & II HIV infection

 

The Mobile Clinic also runs a feeding program for the pre-school children of Lulu Farm (where the clinic goes each Wednesday). The children are provided with two warm meals a day Monday – Fridays. Through the years the care facility where these children stay while their parents are at work, has also been upgraded by different friends of ASM.

Patient consultations for 2009:

 

• Children aged between 0 and 5 years                                                      712

 

• Antenatal care                                                                                                     164

 

• Family planning injections                                                                           436

 

• General acute & chronic medical care                                                    3097

 

TOTAL CONSULTATIONS                                                            4271

 

 

In Both clinics the patients respond positively to the respect, love and care with which the team treat them, and to the excellent medical care that they receive. This gives us many opportunities to pray with people and share more about the love of Jesus. Each day is also started with a short message from the Bible. Since September there has been an amazing move of the spirit of God on the farm where we take the mobile clinic, with a number of people each week making commitments to accept Jesus as their Saviour.

 

 

These people are then referred to a SiSwati pastor who has services in the local school. He disciples them and they receive sound Biblical teaching in his church. We also offer them the opportunity to do the Emmanuel Press Bible studies. With generous gifts from the White River AOG congregation and other individuals we have been able to provide many of these new believers with a Bible in their mother tongue.

 

 

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,

which God has prepared in advance for us to do”   Eph 2:10 (NIV).

Jenny Holtzhausen