Burn Rehabilitation
Outside of most developed countries, very few places in the world offer a rehabilitation program for burn victims. While a patient might survive the actual burn and hospitalization, there is a long process of wound healing that require preventative attention to avoid debilitating problems. Some impact from the burn is generally unavoidable but so much can be done in a simple, low cost, rehabilitation program to ensure the best possible outcome.
The biggest thing that I have learned working around the world in clinics and hospitals is that money and fancy equipment are not always the determining factors for successful outcomes in a burn injury. Education, common sense, and hard work are very important ingredients for a good program. After skin grafting has been done and the skin has healed, the tedious job of forcing the skin to heal properly without loss of range of movement begins.
The work of BCI is two fold: Our first job is to maintain our clinics, always continuing to improve and learn.O ur second job is to help other health care sites duplicate our program in their own hospital. Our first clinic was begun in 2005 in the 15 bed pediatric burn unit of the Viedma Hospital in Cochabamba Bolivia where we sew custom fit pressure garments. This clinic serves patients from all over the country of Bolivia. It is in this clinic that we have learned how to operate a low cost program that effectively works with burn patients.
From this experience, we have had the pleasure of helping other mission hospitals in other countries learn how to implement their own program. We have also now opened our second work in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. One of my jobs at BCI is to go on site to hospitals to train them in how to offer an effective, low cost program with a basic staff that offers each patient:
APPROPRIATE NUTRITION
using local fresh and healthy foods
PHYSICAL THERAPY
with basic every day tools
PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELING
for patients and their family
PRESSURE GARMENT THERAPY
how to actually sew a custom made pressure garment
HYGIENE INSTRUCTION
how to care for the wound and the pressure garments
Prevention starts early in the healing process! Using a proper five step program with minimal financial investment but maximum time investment, most any facility can ensure the best possible outcome for the patient.
using local fresh and healthy foods
PHYSICAL THERAPY
with basic every day tools
PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELING
for patients and their family
PRESSURE GARMENT THERAPY
how to actually sew a custom made pressure garment
HYGIENE INSTRUCTION
how to care for the wound and the pressure garments
Prevention starts early in the healing process! Using a proper five step program with minimal financial investment but maximum time investment, most any facility can ensure the best possible outcome for the patient.