GUANTÁNAMO.— Some 47 kilometers separate Palenque, the municipal capital of Yateras, from the city of Guantánamo. If there were no emergency services, able to stabilize patients before transporting them to other health facilities, the risk of fatalities would be extremely high.
For five years now the Fausto Favier Favier polyclinic, located in this constituency of Macizo Sagua-Baracoa, has had an intensive care unit which has seen positive results.
According to Faustino Harriette, municipal director of health, so far this year 293 patients have been treated in the unit, with an over 98% survival rate.
He also highlighted the institution’s highly qualified personnel and availability of resources to carry out procedures; so much so that only 28% of patients have had to be referred to other health institutions this year.
”This municipality often gets cut off during periods of heavy rain, making emergency services vital to saving peoples lives, which is the main objective of the Medical Emergency System,” he states.
Patients express deep felt gratitude for the professional care they receive from the facility’s health personnel.
Carmen Daisy Ramírez feels greatly indebted to the staff at the polyclinic after a near fatal stroke.
”The diagnosis was complicated, but the doctors carried out the necessary examinations on me to find out what was going on, after which they managed to stabilize me. Later I was referred to another facility, but if I hadn’t have received immediate attention I probably wouldn’t be here telling you this story,” she states.
In addition to its emergency services, the Fausto Favier polyclinic also has a rehabilitation unit, an elder care center, security team, observation room and 20 basic health teams; providing coverage to 10,200 people.
The facility is currently undergoing renovation, including expanding ward capacitates, diagnosis areas, dentistry services, among others, in order to better meet the needs of the community.
A DOUBLE DOSE OF SACRIFICE AND RESPONSIBILITY
The responsibility of managing the Fausto Favier Favier polyclinic rests on the shoulders of Dr. Sergio Jañez Druyet whose experiences demonstrate the professionalism and sacrifices made by Cuban doctors on a daily basis.
“Many of the doctors aren’t native to Yateras; we come from places where we’re used to having everything close at hand… However when you arrive to the zone you realize that everything is far away: the villages, the clinics. You have to cross a river, which often swells, to see a patient; you have to ride a mule or horse to reach certain places. Then you have to treat the sick in difficult conditions with the minimum means necessary. But this makes us better professionals,” he states.
The characteristics of the territory are explained to new doctors and great emphasis is placed on monitoring health risks to maternal-preconception patients, the most vulnerable communities, and above all on personalized care, with the aim of reviving the founding precepts of the family medicine program, comments Jañez.
He added that getting to know the area and its people contribute to establishing a strong link with the community, bearing in mind that the population is used to receiving home visits, making family doctor a trusted confidant.
Today Sergio is a Comprehensive Family Medicine specialist. His story could well be that of any other recently graduated or veteran doctor, working to bring healthcare and love to the remote communities of the zone; because this is undoubtedly a work of infinite love.
