Our Program: The Casa Jackson Solution
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Our program is based on five elements which work together
to create long-lasting success:
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1. In-house care of acute malnourishment
2. Outpatient rehabilitation
3. Field Clinics to determine possible
cases of malnutrition
4. Community Empowerment to fight
malnutrition at its roots
5. Rehabilitated living condition
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1. In-House Care of Acute Malnourishment
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| Casa Jackson is designed to accommodate up to 20 in-house cases of severe malnourishment. These
patients consist of children and infants who run a high risk of
mortality without immediate intervention. After the triaging process,
admitted patients begin the sometimes long road to recovery. The
recovery approach of the center was designed following the World Health
Organization guidelines and implements approaches from different
professionals in the field of malnutrition.
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Using
a computer-based data monitoring program, the patient’s progress is
tracked and recorded with diet and treatment decisions made through
careful data analysis. Temperature and weight levels are recorded daily as well as the child’s nutritional intake and waste elimination masses. Care of a child involves much more than providing them with a safe environment and sufficient nutrition. Children come into the world ready to absorb their environment. Without
mental stimulation and human affection, their bodies may grow, but
their minds will slowly waste away. The large volume of volunteers the
center manages makes it possible to give constant love and attention to
each and every child. The volunteers assist the nurses in feeding,
cleaning, and caring for the patients.
Inpatient
stays vary by severity and are generally between 3 weeks and 4 months.
When the children are released from the center, they are released as
happy healthy children into an environment that ensures the problem
will not resurface (see Rehabilitated Living Conditions).
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2. Outpatient Rehabilitation
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With
over half of the population of Guatemala suffering from some degree of
malnutrition, finding cases of the disease is not difficult. If a case
of malnutrition is not severe enough to pass Casa Jackson’s triaging,
they are still helped through our outpatient care. The center works
with treatment and monitoring of up to one hundred such chronic
malnourishment cases in the surrounding communities. Working
with partners such as Direct Relief International, the center is able
to provide proper nutrition, education, and monitoring so that over
time these children can become properly nourished.
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3. Field Clinics as an Integral Ingredient to Fighting Malnutrition
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Part of the problem of malnutrition in Guatemala arises because many communities do not have access to proper healthcare. Casa Jackson regularly conducts field clinics to bring medical care to poorer communities. The
purpose of holding field clinics is threefold. Initially they provide a
place where entire communities can receive educational classes teaching
simple ways of providing proper nutrition with modest resources. In
addition to the educational aspect of the clinics, each child is
measured and weighed. This supplies data on the severity and extent of
the problem in many areas where such studies have never been done
thoroughly. From that data choices are made as to which
child is severe enough to encourage their parents to admit them to Casa
Jackson for immediate medical intervention. Less severe
cases are admitted to the outpatient program in which the families are
given educational intervention and the children insured proper
nutrition and close monitoring. Success is measured by tracking the progress these children make over time.
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Field
clinics are facilitated with the coordination of local community
leaders, as working with them inspires trust and confidence in
communities that are culturally wary of outsiders. These
leaders are taught the simple measurements used in the triaging process
so that in the future they can identify severe malnutrition cases and
refer them to the center.
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5. Rehabilitated Living Conditions
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Merely treating victims of malnutrition without addressing the cause is a losing strategy. No matter how effective the center is at rehabilitation, it is all done in vain if they are placed in situations where the vicious cycle is allowed to continue.The inpatient recovery program encompasses the recovery of a child’s entire family. Casa Jackson’s social worker makes an initial visit to a family to make an assessment of the underlying causes of the patient’s malnourishment. They take into account a family’s water supply, monthly income, diet, housing situation, and a host of other factors that could lead to malnourishment.
After the problems are identified, the appropriate solutions are implemented. If contaminated water is a culprit, the family is given an EcoFilter™ with instructions on how to use it to purify water for human consumption. If the family’s economical condition is a cause, the social worker can begin a microfinance program in which they learn how to raise 100 chickens that in addition to providing a ready source of protein can be sold for a profit margin of up to $200 a month, which is double what most poor families live off of. While the child is being rehabilitated, the family is being educated and assisted so that when the child is well enough to return, the recovery will be permanent.
Malnutrition affects every level of Guatemalan society. Under the direction and support of Asociación Nuestros Ahijados, Casa Jackson is a model center for combating and preventing malnutrition, delving into each level of the problem, and utilizing a large network of support to present a variety of workable solutions to a complicated problem.
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