School of Public Health and Social Medicine (SPHSM) - Community Health & Out-reach Services
Centre has developed a comprehensive community oriented decentralized primary health care delivery system with special focus on MCH in an operational area of 250 villages and 5 urban slum areas covering 6 lakh population.
Primary Health Care by Empowered Rural Community:
The Centre has adopted 250 villages for promoting Primary Health Care through empowered local rural Community. In each of the adopted village, local women (Female Health Volunteer), Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs), Traditional Healers (Vaid) and School Teachers received structured training and were equipped with First Aid Box, DDKs, Water Testing Kits, Health Educational Kits and Resources.
These locally trained people have been continuously providing primary health care services, first aid and preventive actions like transportation arrangements in emergencies, gender equality, driving away blind faiths and beliefs, water purification, sanitation, eco-farming, social forestry etc at village level. The Centre also has established 16 ''Arogya Banks'' at the village level to cope with their own primary health care and emergency medical aid.
Rural Health Centers ( RHCs):
The Centre provides qualified Primary Health Care through Nine Rural Health Centers established at remote rural and tribal areas namely - Rahata, Kolhar, Babhaleshwar, Kolhar, Zarekathi (tribal), Shendi (tribal), Rajur (tribal), Karhetakli (Dam displacement village), and Shevgaon. The RHCs provide all necessary general health care, maternal, child and adolescent health care, dental & physiotherapy services through qualified and trained man power.
Expert doctors and nurses from Sweden (Linkoping University Hospital) trained the medical and nursing staff of the RHCs and Mobile Clnics (MCs). Through these RHCs and MCs, the Centre is serving about 500,000 underserved population. The RHCs provide services to approximately 50,000 general patients and 20,000 maternal & child health cases on Swedish pattern every year. Medical and nursing staff of RHCs also conduct preschool and school health check-ups.
Mobile Clinics (MCs) :
The Centre operates 5 fully equipped Mobile Clinics providing MCH & General Health Care services to 235 underserved, remote villages of 9 blocks of Ahmednagar District. All high risk cases and other needy patients are referred to Pravara Dr. Balasaheb Vikhe Patil Rural Medical College Hospital for further treatment and management. Five mobile clinics treat approximately 20,000 general patients and 45,000 maternal & child health cases annually.
Functions of Rural Health centres and Mobile Clinics
- Women's Health Clinic
- Antenatal and Postnatal Care
- Fortnightly visit of Gynecologist to monitor high-risk cases
- Referral Services for Emergency Obstetrical Care & Safe Abortions
- Family welfare services
- Child Health Clinic
- New born and Child care
- Immunization
- Child development and growth
- Fortnightly visit of Pediatrician to monitor needy children
- Youth Clinic
- Education and counseling on gender equality, nutrition, safe sex Family, Life Skills etc
- Supply of contraceptives
- Physiotherapy Clinic
- Fortnightly Dental Clinic
- Primary Health Care - Providing Primary Health Care to General Patients for all common ailments
- Laboratory services including STI/RTI, HIV/AIDS
- Cancer Screening
- Microbiological and Chemical testing for potability of drinking water
Referrals to Pravara Rural Medical and Dental Hospital:
The medical doctors working at RHCs, Mobile Clinics and trained community health workers refer the needy cases, including high risk mothers, malnourished/severely ill children to the PIMS University Medical & Dental Hospital, for further investigations and treatment, free of charge. This referral facility not only results in providing expert clinical care and management to the needy patients but also helps in increasing the clinical material for students.
Medical Screening Camps:
The Community Health Division holds periodical speciality wise mini diagnostic camps (Eye, Dental, Diabetic, RCH etc) and General Health Check-up & Screening Camps in remote and tribal areas in collaboration with PIMS University Hospital Staff. Besides, the Division also collaborates with Government Public Health Department for providing "Out-reach" services under RCH & AYUSH Schemes and National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).
Faculty and students of medical, dentistry, nursing, physiotherapy of the constituent institutes of PIMS University participate in all the Community Health Division activities. Besides, International students visiting PIMS University under exchange programmes, Public Health Internship programs take active part in all the community health and extension activities.
School Health, Hygiene and Environment Program (SHAPE)
The Division has launched “School Health, Hygiene and Environment Program (SHAPE)” to create safe, secure and healthy environment for 12 remote rural and tribal schools, to live healthy, learn better and face the challenges of future life in January 2011. The program envisages promoting health, hygiene, environment in and through schools to bring about behavioural changes that will have a lasting impact. It also seeks to enable children (both girls and boys) to realize their right to healthy and safe learning environment.
