Honduran Medical Brigade on Local TV News

Honduran Medical Brigade on Local TV News

by | Sep 15, 2023 | Mobile Clinics, News

Friends of Barnabas (FOB) has been serving Honduran families for almost 25 years. FOB started using BackpackEMR to enhance their overall impact in 2021, and have shown many improvements in their operations due to adopting our portable electronic medical records (EMR) for use in remote mountain communities!

The organization has 3 programs:

Healthy Kids – This program was developed for children whose medical needs go beyond what their parents can provide. Care is managed through FOB’s Barnabas House Clinic and also through a network of partner organizations. Children admitted to this program suffer from cardiac defects, neurological disorders, cleft lip and cleft palates, sickle cell anemia, vision issues, and other defects and illnesses.

Healthy Communities – Thirty remote mountain communities in central Honduras are chosen to participate in our Healthy Communities Program.  They each must meet criteria such as how far they are from a healthcare facility, lack of safe water or sanitary systems, whether they are being served by other aid organizations, and safe access.  All communities must demonstrate a commitment to participating in health education and agree to a formal partnership.

Healthy Honduras – This program focuses on the continuing education of the Honduran medical community.  We work to provide educational opportunities on a wide variety of topics that address the care and wellness of pediatric patients. 

As part of their work within communities, the FOB team conducted a brigade that captured local media attention! Click here to see FOB in action, helping to improve health conditions for Honduras children and remote communities. You can see the team using BackpackEMR to find their patients’ charts and to add the new visit information!

Partner Spotlight – Flourish Collective

Partner Spotlight – Flourish Collective

by | Aug 30, 2019 | Medical Missions, Mobile Clinics

We are very overdue in highlighting a key partner of BackpackEMR’s in the Flourish Collective. Our team piloted our new Primary Care module for the first time with the Flourish Collective in January 2018. 

This trip had its own unique set of challenges, not only as our first trial for Primary Care, but also with each mini-clinic being a boat-ride away. You may be picturing a double-decker ship or other large vessel taking us across the ocean – but that is not the case. We brought crates of medical supplies, along with 11 tablets, battery packs, and other equipment on a tiny motor boat packed with >20 people. It was a nervous-but-adventurous endeavor!

The challenges didn’t stop BackpackEMR from shining as an EMR made for mobile clinics. We saw around 100 patients each day, and tracked them all throughout the clinic using BackpackEMR. It was exciting to see it in action!

Now Flourish Collective has become a partner, using BackpackEMR for their most recent trip to Haiti in January 2019. When the team returned to the same villages and saw some of the same patients, they were able to view past medical histories from the previous year, which helped with diagnosing the new ailments and prescribing correct treatments and medication. 

“This incredible tool is simple to use, easy to pack and has allowed us to build relationships with the communities we are serving.” says the Flourish Collective. 

The two organizations share the mission to find sustainable methods of providing healthcare assistance to underserved communities. They are focused on a handful of communities in Haiti that they support year after year with continued care. 

We are excited to continue working with The Flourish Collective and can’t wait to see more of their impact in Haiti.

A Successful 2-Day Medical Camp in Nairobi

A Successful 2-Day Medical Camp in Nairobi

by | Jul 26, 2019 | Mobile Clinics

Nairobi, Kenya – BackpackEMR has had many firsts in the last few years, but our trip to Nairobi in June was one of our biggest.

We ran a pilot of BackpackEMR during a free 2-day clinic at the Lunga Lunga Health Center with our in-country partners, Life Link International, the Kenyan Red Cross, and sponsor Kenya Pipeline Company.

We were anticipating quite a few patients with our clinic running on the same day as ground-breaking for Lunga Lunga’s new Maternity Center, which included an appearance by the Nairobi Governor.

 

We were not disappointed. We saw 1000 patients during our 2-day clinic! This was an incredible test of our system with heavy volumes, the capability of quick entry, and the general stability of the system with such a high rate of data entry.

With only 1 hour of training before the clinic, the medical team was able to master the system with one clinician ending the camp saying “using BackpackEMR was actually faster than paper!“

The system was fast, with patient information displaying immediately at every other station. And, the medical team was open and excited to be using such a user-friendly EMR, despite some initial reservation with the concept of using an EMR during a free medical camp. It was a HUGE SUCCESS! 

While it was difficult to celebrate during the clinic with our focus on the patients and the medical team using our system… we have to admit we were a bit giddy now looking back.

We might take a few moments to be excited about our performance in Kenya, but we’re already hard at work with all of the improvements we want to make based on our experience. No time to celebrate – we have work to do!