The Clinic

Nursing and pre-med students from North Park had expressed interest in using their skills while on this trip, so we partnered with two Zambian nurses and set up a temporary clinic in one of the two school classrooms.

The first day we saw 25 children from the school. The second day, 75. By the third day of the clinic we had a system in place and were able to see the remaining 150 children. We experienced several tense moments as people from the village, who were desperate to receive medical attention for themselves or their children, often crowded the building and tried to push their way in.

Basic vital signs were taken, the children were checked for infection, malaria and worms. We had medications and all kinds of medical supplies thanks to generous donations from the Nelson family, whose daughter and North Park student Linnea was a nurse on our trip. All of the children received multivitamins, and those who needed it received treatments for worms, cough and infections.

Each child in the school now has a medical chart and North Park hopes to return every 6 months to conduct a similar clinic and do further medical assessment and treatment.