By Lynna Chandra | Founder & Trustee
Palliative Care went from nobody's business to everybody's business
In 2014, the wife of the Governor of Jakarta, Mrs Veronica Basuki, announced her wish for palliative care to be available at every District Hospital in Jakarta. Overnight, Rachel House was propelled on the path towards transformative scale; and the seeds that we had patiently planted over the years blossomed to bring forth a health system that is now ready for palliative care.
“Business as usual” - with expanded coverage
In late 2013, we expanded our coverage to involve community volunteers - empowering them with the necessary skills and knowledge to help provide home-based palliative care for children from the marginalised communities living with cancer or HIV. The trained volunteers under our Community Network in Palliative Care(“CNPC”) Program are now collaborating with medical professionals at primary health centers in Jakarta (who are also included in the palliative care training) to bring the much-needed care to patients at home.
2014 also saw the beginning of our work in designing the curriculum for accredited palliative care short courses for nurses under the Clinic-in-a-Box Program. Our Clinic-in-a-Box Programwill be piloted in 2015, in collaboration with the National Nursing Association (PPNI) and the nursing faculties of several major universities, to equip nurses with home-based palliative care skills and financial skills to allow nurse to practice independently. It is our hope that the “Clinic-in-a-Box” trained nurses combined with the CNPC trained volunteers will help alleviate the suffering faced by many today due to the critical shortage of medical professionals in Indonesia.
Our Gratefulness & Thanks
The awesomeness of the journey in the last 12 months is something that none of us could have predicted. The part we played was simply to stand ready for the occasion. I am grateful to the entire Rachel House team who stood up to the challenge, and most of all, to all our faithful and wonderful supporters – volunteers, partners and donors - who continue to champion the cause and rally around us. Thank you.
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