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Rubanda, Uganda, Health Center Offering care at a health center in rural Uganda is one of hundreds of ways in which Medical Mission Sisters around the world try to be a healing presence to those in need today. Sister Joan Marie Doud, a nurse and midwife from Philadelphia, heads our Health Center in Rubanda. Sisters Jane Fell, Jocelyne Mukabwa, and Veronicah Njeri Njuguna are in mission with her there. Categorized by the government as a Health Center 3, the dispensary serves 17,350 people in its allotted area, and many more from beyond. "Some come over 10 to 15 miles on foot to get here," our Sisters explain. "Many of the very sick persons are carried the 10 to 15 miles on stretchers." The dispensary staff of 14 offers outpatient, in-patient, and maternity services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. An ambulance is available. Public health and counseling services also are connected with the Health Center, and are a very significant part of our outreach. The number of patients seeking help for malaria greatly increased in the past year, to 8,711 cases. "It was like an epidemic that wouldn't stop," Sister Joan says. "The fact that we stock quinine to treat malaria resistant to chloroquin and other anti-malarials, while many other units do not, probably accounts for this. The pattern is that patients go first to nearby health facilities, then come to us if they don't get well." Over 2,800 patients came to the Health Center last year suffering from respiratory problems; 44 are currently being treated for tuberculosis. Patients with AIDS and sexually-transmitted infections were treated as well. The availability of free antiretroviral drugs at a nearby hospital has helped both children and adults who test HIV-positive. Although most babies are born at home, the Center had 224 deliveries last year. "We train the traditional birth attendants (TBAs), who are excellent. We try to work hand in hand with them," says Sister Joan. "That's probably why the number of our maternity cases has gone up, because the TBAs refer to us." "We try to sustain and nourish our life in mission by our community prayer and by our contact with priests and religious in our area. Our staff and neighbors, and the courage of the patients, also enrich us."
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