Aldea San José*

  • Overview
  • Medical
  • Dental
  • Water
  • Business
  • Public Health

Overview

Kids in Aldea San Jose play games in Medical Brigade Charla

Aldea San José is located in the mountainous region of central Nicaragua in the department of Matagalpa. A typical house is made of wood. The community has a local health centre within the community and a multigrade primary school. 100 students attend the primary school with six teachers and two classrooms. The primary school goes up to grade 6, and there is no secondary school located in Aldea San José. Most people in the community work as agricultural labourers.

Global Brigades is currently working with the Medical Program in Aldea San José and has been since the first Medical Brigade in May 2017. In their communication with Global Brigades, the top three needs expressed by the community of Aldea San José are lack of latrines or properly functioning latrines, limited access to potable water, and lack of access to medications. Aldea San José is on the waitlist for continuing Holistic Model implementation as part of Global Brigades’ strategic plan in Nicaragua.

Municipality: El Tuma
Department: Matagalpa

*Brigades to this community are temporarily suspended at this time

Homes : 40
Population : 300
Water System : Yes
Community Bank : No
Electricity : Yes
Health Center : Yes
Community Health Workers : Yes
% of Homes with Latrines : 80%
Education : Up to 6th Grade
Distance from Lodging Facility : 36 km

Medical

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

HEALTH CARE ACCESS

Healthcare access in Nicaragua is structured by the Ministry of Health, based in the capital, Managua. From there, each of the fifteen departments has its own department hospital, which is overseen by the SILAIS administrations (Sistema Local de Atención Integral en Salud). At a municipality level, there is a health centre (Centro de Salud) for every municipality within the department. While they are not hospitals, health centres in the municipality are typically staffed with one doctor, and two nurses, that can attend to patients with chronic, communicable, or noncommunicable diseases, as well as pregnancies. They, however, do not have the ability to perform surgeries.

Lastly, most but not all communities have a Puesto de Salud, a smaller health centre. These health centres are usually staffed with only one nurse and a rotating physician. Physicians are staffed in these health centres by Nicaragua’s Social Service. This is an initiative that requires Nicaraguan medical students to do two years of service in rural communities prior to graduating. The physician density in Nicaragua is approximately 1,099 people for every doctor. According to the World Health Organization, there should be a maximum of 435 people per physician to qualify a country as having adequate access to medical attention.

This density is significantly lower for the 40.6% of the population that lives in rural areas. It is for this reason that Nicaragua’s Social Service initiative brings medical students to these communities. However, access remains limited since these training physicians may be assigned to up to fifteen communities at a time.  

Aldea San José has access to a health centre within the community. Even with this access, it is important to note that medications, supplies, and materials are often not available in these health centres and are dependent on government funding. There is no access to private pharmacies. Additionally, as noted above, access to trained medical professionals is limited.

During their initial communications with Global Brigades, the top three illnesses in children that Aldea San José expressed are diarrheal diseases, acute respiratory infections, and dermatitis. For adults, common illnesses are chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, urinary tract infections, and dermatitis. Without access to trained healthcare professionals and medications, chronic diseases can go unmanaged, leading to further health problems. Acute illnesses can also be severe and affect the quality of life.

52

Volunteers

1,542

Patient Consultations

N/A

Vision Screenings Provided

34

Health Education Workshops

COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS

Aldea San José has 4 Community Health Workers that are trained by the Ministry of Health monthly. Community Health Workers, or Brigadistas de Salud, work on a volunteer basis as advocates for healthcare within their communities. They are tasked with treating and preventing common illnesses, and some of their responsibilities include first aid, supporting and caring for pregnancies and newborns, and responding to emergency situations. They are also responsible for following up with chronic patients to ensure proper administration of medications and treatments to avoid further complications.

Global Brigades is planning to establish a partnership with Aldea San José and the Ministry of Health and is looking forward to providing these Community Health Workers with blood pressure cuffs, stethoscopes, glucometers, and first aid kits, to facilitate more impactful work. The presence of these volunteers and their advocacy for health within their community contributes to the sustainability of healthcare supported by Global Brigades’ Medical Program and is one of the most impactful disease prevention strategies in rural communities.

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BRIGADE INFORMATION

Community members from Aldea San José attend Medical Brigades in the small health centre and community house of Aldea San José. This location has rooms for triage, consultation, dentistry and pharmacy stations.

Aldea San José offers strong support for Medical Brigades from the community volunteers. One way the 8-15 community volunteers assist is by running intake. Intake is the very first station of the clinic and is where the community volunteers write down the patient’s name, date of birth, community, and identification number. Additionally, community volunteers manage clinic organization. They set up tables and chairs in the clinic prior to the brigade’s arrival as well as direct patients to the next medical station, once the clinic has opened for the day. Lastly, community volunteers lead adult health education sessions on sanitation and hygiene, chronic diseases, contraception, Women’s health, and water purification. Aldea San José community volunteers are essential the efficiency and effectiveness of Medical Brigades.

AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED PER DAY: 875
NEARBY COMMUNITIES: SAN MIGUEL, EL TIGRE, VALLE LA ISLA, LA REBUSCA

MEDICAL/DENTAL VOLUNTEERS IN ALDEA SAN JOSE

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
Miami University of Ohio Medical Brigade & Missouri Kansas City Medical Brigade May 2017 24 DePaul University Medical Brigade November 2017 28

Dental

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

DENTAL CARE ACCESS

While medical access is low, dental access is even more sparing. Dental services are not available within the community health centers, or even the municipality health centers. Instead, if a patient was needing dental care, they would be required to travel to one of the country’s fifteen department hospitals. This could be up to a 2-3 hour bus ride, with many needing to first walk or horseback ride to the bus stop.

209

Patient Consultations

140

Number of Extractions

128

Fillings Performed

22

Dental Education Workshops

BRIGADE INFORMATION

Working closely with the Medical Program, the Dental Program provides fillings, extractions, and fluoride treatments as a standard part of medical brigades. Community members from Aldea San José attend Dental Brigades in the community health centre and community centre and community house of Aldea San José.

Aldea San José offers strong support for Dental Brigades from the community volunteers. One way the 8-15 community volunteers assist is by running intake. Intake is the very first station of the clinic and is where the community volunteers write down the patient’s name, date of birth, community, and identification number. Additionally, community volunteers manage clinic organizations. They set up tables and chairs in the clinic prior to the brigade’s arrival as well as direct patients to the next medical station, once the clinic has opened for the day. Lastly, community volunteers lead adult health education sessions on oral health and hygiene. Aldea San José community volunteers are essential to the efficiency and effectiveness of Dental Brigades.

AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED PER DAY: 875
NEARBY COMMUNITIES: SAN MIGUEL, EL TIGRE, VALLE LA ISLA, LA REBUSCA

MEDICAL/DENTAL VOLUNTEERS IN ALDEA SAN JOSE

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
Miami University of Ohio Medical Brigade & Missouri Kansas City Medical Brigade May 2017 24 DePaul University Medical Brigade November 2017 28

Water

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Currently, Aldea San José utilizes a gravity-based system. The system was constructed in the early 2000s and has in-home connections to 70% of the households. There are seven elected Water Council members whose responsibility is to maintain the system and make repairs when needed. Those connected to the system support the system’s maintenance with their monthly water fee.

For the 30% of the community that is not connected to the system, they utilize three communal manual pumps. To obtain the water they must walk to the pumps and carry enough, or make enough trips to the pump, to have enough water to drink, cook with, bathe, and wash clothes. 

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Aldea San José but has not yet begun with the Water Program. Now in the planning phase, the financing, delivery, and installation of a water system infrastructure, or repairs to existing infrastructure will start as soon as feasible.

Water System : Yes
Type of Water System : Gravity
% of Homes with Access to Water : 70%
Water Council : Yes

Business

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Aldea San José but has not yet begun with the Business Program. In the planning phase, local staff is working with community members to assess the economic needs of the community, establish a community bank, and identify micro-enterprises that can benefit from on-brigade consultations. 

Community Bank : No
Community Bank Members : NA
Economic Activities : Agriculture, Day Laborers
Existing Microenterprises : No

Public Health

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Aldea San José but has not yet begun with the Public Health Program. Now in the planning phase, the financing, delivery, and installation of household health infrastructure products will start as soon as feasible.

% of Homes with Latrines : 80%
% of Homes with Showers : 0%
% of Homes with Washing Station : 9%
Common House Materials : Wood

Local Reference Points

View the map to see the closest volunteer lodging facilities, hospitals, and other relevant points of reference.

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