UNC Chapel Hill Medical/Public Health Brigade Nicaragua March 2015

Start Date: Mar 9, 2015 12:00 AM
End Date: Mar 17, 2015 12:00 AM

Global Brigades offers 9 day Medical/Public Health Brigades throughout the year in Nicaragua. During a Medical Brigade, volunteers have the opportunity to take vitals and patient history in triage, shadow licensed doctors in medical consultations, and assist in a pharmacy under the direction of licensed pharmacists. Each of our partner communities receives a brigade approximately twice a year. Between brigades, our in-country team maintains relationships with the communities to provide follow-up and to conduct Community Health Worker (CHW) trainings to empower local leaders to sustain a consistent level of healthcare. Electronic patient records are collected for future visitations and to monitor overall community health trends.

On Public Health Brigades, volunteers develop sustainable health solutions and establish a standard of health quality by emphasizing prevention and education. The Public Health Program achieves this goal by implementing in-home infrastructure projects, providing health education, and engaging community members. Each Public Health Brigade will work with individual families, local schools, and community leaders with a focus on holistic and preventative health measures on both an individual and community-wide scale.