Public Health at Gila River

We started our public health rotation this week, and after completing one week in the public health setting, I feel that I have gained insight and a better knowledge of the Gila River population. I have spent this week with an LPN, making home visits to the Sacaton Village, District 3 of Gila River Indian Community. Working directly with the people of the community, I am able to see how and under what conditions the community members live. There seems to be a very high rate of unemployment, and a resulting atmosphere of poverty. There is trash, unused cars and trucks and children’s toys littering most yards, and there is very little, to no landscaping done around any of the homes. Graffiti covers the sides of some of the houses, and several windows and doors are boarded up on home that are both inhabited and abandoned. The conditions in which people live inside their homes is sadly not much better, and hygiene does not seem to be a high priority here, which is deeply concerning. It is sad to see how the people live in this way.

As visiting nurses, we are responsible for helping patients fill their medication boxes, usually for a week, sometimes two weeks, at a time. Many patients are not compliant with their medications, and we provide patient teaching, which we hope will encourage them to take their medications more frequently. We also take vital signs on some patients who require closer monitoring. The most shocking discovery I’ve made this week has been the non-compliance with taking blood sugars as directed. Many patients admit to not checking their blood sugars for days at a time, and are repeatedly asked to do so.

We have also participated in a flu clinic for the elders of the community, which was interesting. We will continue to work with the public health nurses next week before we move on to school health. I am looking forward to seeing what we will learn about the community next week.