Burn patients need rehabilitation
Prevention starts early in the healing process!
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.
This 5 Step Program has minimal financial investment but maximum hard work, patience, and time investment
This can work towards the best possible outcome for the patient.
APPROPRIATE NUTRITION
using local fresh and healthy foods
PHYSICAL THERAPY and POSITIONING
with basic every day tools
PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELING
for patients and their family
COMPRESSION GARMENT THERAPY
how to actually sew a custom made compression garment
HYGIENE INSTRUCTION
how to care for the wound and the pressure garments
The work of BCI is two fold: Our first job is to maintain our clinic, always continuing to improve and learn. Our 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.