Today was a busy start to my final week in Brazil. Sister Joana, Professora Vera and I began the day bright and early by driving to the other side of the city for a tour of the Hospital of Alternative Medicine, which, since it was about twelve degrees Celsius this morning, was freezing cold. There we learned about the services provided by the hospital and how the hospital functions. It is a state hospital and has its own garden from which many of the medicines prescribed there are made. It has acupuncture, yoga, psychiatry, and general health services. Patients are either referred to the hospital from the local health clinics or they can come directly to the hospital. However, if patients come directly to the hospital, they are seen only as openings are available in the schedule. In other words, if a patient is referred to the hospital by a clinic, they are guaranteed to be seen at their appointment time. It was interesting to experience, though briefly, the difference in the atmosphere at this hospital in contrast to the others I have visited. It was much more relaxed, but I think that it was in part due to the fact that this hospital is more of a clinic, as patients do not stay in the hospital, they are just seen for consults. It is interesting to note also that all the doctors that work there specialize in holistic medicine rather than something more specific such as cardiology.
After lunch, I spent some time in another PSF (family health clinic) called Villa Mutirao. There I observed a class given by a doctor for patients with hypertension and diabetes about proper diet. Each month, the eqipes (health care teams) of this PSF have a class for twenty to thirty of their patients after which they do brief check ups and renew prescriptions as well as schedule consults if necessary. The doctor of this equipe was very nice and seemed to be very observant of her patients. She gave the class in an accessible way and tried to be encouraging rather than blame the patients for having poor diets. I was also able to observe one consult with this doctor after the class. She explained for me about observing both the patient's physical state and his or her demeanor as well during the consult, which was something obvious, but that I had never been told before.
Tonight back at Jesus de Nazareth, we changed topics and began to discuss family. Tonight's speakers were a OBGYN and women's health specialist, Dr. Luis Henrique, from Rio de Janeiro who now lives and works here in a PSF the sisters' neighborhood and his wife, Christina. They have two young daughters, eight years old and eleven years old. They began slowly, telling about how they met and decided to get married, but a hush fell over the church when they began to describe their family's struggle when Christina was diagnosed with breast cancer during her second pregnancy. It was incredible to hear of their journey and see the way they respected each other throughout everything. The example of this family and the faith that they maintained and on which they relied during their times of uncertainty are inspiring. I am a little sad that I will not be able to spend more time learning about the work of Dr. Luis Henrique also! He spoke a little bit about how he has worked in a PSF, an hospital, and as a breast care specialist. He also has worked in administration, though he returned to direct patient care when he realized that he missed interacting with patients directly.
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| Dr. Luis Henrique and his wife Christina, a breast cancer survivor |
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| The captivated audience...including me in the front left of the photo |
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| Professora Vera, thanking Dr. Luis Henrique and Christina for speaking |
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| Sister Anita, me, Dr. Luis Henrique, Professora Vera, Sister Joana, Christina and their two daughters at the end of the evening |
