Physiotherapists, students go rural

A 17-member medical team from the physiotherapy department at the Sir Joseph Nombri Memorial Hospital in Kundiawa conducted a major rural outreach programmne at Snow Pass in Bundi, Madang in partnership with Kumara Foundation over the weekend.
The team had five registered physiotherapists from the hospital, a technician, three residents and five third-year physiotherapy students from the Divine Word University who were doing their 10 weeks’ training at the hospital.
The team was joined by Willie Gene, disease control specialist of the Kundiawa-Gembogl health services.
Kumara Foundation founder Vincent Kumara said more than 1,000 people from Bundi gathered at Snow Pass and the team attended to 260 patients and referred 107.
Kumara said two patients from Bundikara village, about 4km from Snow Pass were carried on makeshift stretchers. “Six of these 107 patients were referred to remote Brahman Health Centre in Lower Bundi five patients to the Gembogl Health Centre in Chimbu and the others to Sir Joseph Nombri in Kundiawa,” he said.
“Although we communicated clearly to the villages of Bundi that only patients with bone problems should come see us, patients with other sorts of diseases also flocked in.”