Medicine and Public Health

Clinical Work
Evergreen has several medical doctors providing clinical care in a variety of Chinese medical settings, including a county hospital, community clinics, and an orphan care home.  These physicians do their work in Mandarin and are licensed to practice in China.
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Community Health Service Projects
Evergreen is currently involved in the Community Health Service system in both Taiyuan and  Yuci.  Evergreen physicians and medical team members work to provide medical and broader health services, which includes visiting households in the area, establishing health records, screening for and managing chronic illnesses, promoting preventive health care, and providing clinical care.  Evergreen also provides extensive training to physicians and nurses interested in Family Medicine and Community Health.

Public Health
• Rickets Prevention Program
A high incidence in rickets led Evergreen’s public health team to look for the causes of this disabling condition. After establishing the causes, the team developed educational programs and tools for prevention.  In 2007 we determined and published the first valid rates of rickets prevalence in Shanxi province.  We have seen significant declines in rates of rickets since we began this work in 1997, and continue to provide nutritional guidance and rickets prevention information to hundreds of mothers and their children each year.

• Lead Poisoning Prevention and Treatment Program
After surveying the nutrition, behavior, illness patterns, and blood work of 250 rural children aged 12-24 months, Evergreen’s public health team found 55% of these children to be affected by lead poisoning.  A subsequent program has been developed to go into nursery schools to teach parents how to prevent this.  This has been well received and thousands of mothers and teachers have been assisted in preventing lead poisoning.

• Tuberculosis Identification and Treatment Program
China has one of the highest prevalence rates of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in the world.  Evergreen doctors have been treating TB patients for years, providing care through increasing levels of TB awareness and pharmacologic adherence practices, while also providing consistent Christ-like compassion.  In cooperation with the Yuci Center for Disease Control, Evergreen provides treatment and education to approximately 100 TB patients a year.  In 2008-9, Evergreen carried out a two-phase research project looking at diagnostic delays and knowledge of TB; results will be presented at the International Union Against TB and Lung Diseases Asia Regional Meeting in Beijing in September of 2009.

• Metabolic Syndrome Project
Changing lifestyles and dietary patterns are leading to increased rates of obesity and other chronic diseases in China. With permission from the Yuci Public Health Bureau, Evergreen’s public health team surveyed 900 people born in Yuci  1956, 1960, and 1964 found that 46.4%  of participants in this study sample have metabolic syndrome, a precursor to diabetes and heart disease.  Evergreeners are now providing health education and chronic disease management to reduce the effects of these devastating illnesses.  Evergreen has also done extensive training on healthy lifestyles for busy professionals through local companies and their employees.

• Earthquake Relief
The devastating earthquake which shook Sichuan on May 12, 2008 was also felt by Evergreeners 650 miles away in Shanxi.  A few days later, Heart to Heart International asked Evergreen to send a team to Chengdu to help the earthquake survivors.  Evergreeners were able to assist in the areas of counseling, medical care, and English teaching.

Social Work Training
In 2006 the Evergreen Medical Team began providing social work training for five of our workers heavily involved in counseling and patient support.  This training was very timely as China has now called for a huge increase in the number of social workers needed.  We were able to train and employ a group of the first such workers in Shanxi Province, and they are now using their training with excellent results.

Completion of Evergreen’s program allows a participant to take a counseling certification exam and/or the relatively new National Social Worker exam.  Evergreen’s Social Work program covers the following topics:

•    Communication skills
•    Holistic health
•    Case management and coordination of care
•    Finding and accessing resources in the local system
•    Client advocacy
•    Principles of counseling
•    The grieving process
•    Stress management
•    Developmental and social psychology
•    Boundaries and self-care

After completing the social work training, one of Evergreen’s most experienced social workers made the following comment:  “We thought having a loving heart is sufficient for this work, but in practice this isn’t enough. Although love is a prerequisite for the work, other practical skills and boundaries are crucial when we help these clients develop in a holistic way. We don’t merely help them solve the current problem, it is more important to help them personally grow as they face life.”

Samaritan Fund
Evergreen’s Samaritan Fund helps pay for diagnostic tests, surgeries, or medicines for selected patients who are already on the brink of poverty, and for whom treatment would be financially crippling.

Through its social workers and physicians, The Samaritan Fund also provides patients with sound guidance concerning their medical care, including what tests and procedures are actually needed.

For more information on Evergreen’s Samaritan Fund:  http://www.chinadevelopmentbrief.com/node/236

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