The RSHM LIFE Care Center Clinic, a project of the RSHM in the Zambezi Area, is now officially opened. Located in a high-density neighborhood of Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe, the clinic hopes to address the following needs of sick persons:
- Provide outpatient services that will prevent and monitor chronic diseases.
- Combine treatment with health education for both patients and their caregivers, thus enabling them to take charge of their health.
- Regularly visit and provide health monitoring to elderly destitute residents in Chengetenai and Nazareth Shelter, existing institutions in Chinhoyi.
- Provide maternity services: prenatal, delivery, and postnatal.
The dream of a clinic sprang from the visits of RSHM sisters to sick persons in the parish of Musha we Betania in Chinhoyi. These visits made evident the need for education combined with treatment so that elderly stroke and diabetic patients, among others, would be better able to manage their health situations.
The clinic is envisioned as a concrete expression of the RSHM mission:
“TO PROCLAIM THAT JESUS CHRIST HAS COME IN ORDER THAT ALL MAY HAVE LIFE”
Parishioners from Musha we Betania served on the initial steering committee. Their assistance and advice were invaluable at every step of the construction. The RSHM community in Chinhoyi is composed mostly of young temporary professed sisters. None of these young sisters had experience with construction, but prompted by the RSHM spirit of faith and zeal, they learned through the project. These same sisters also received training during the time of construction and are now ready to serve as administrator, accountant, nurse aide, counselor, and communications/public relations contact.
The RSHM family around the world generously supported funding for the construction phase. Families of RSHM sisters also made donations. To meet the challenge of sustainability it is planned to charge a fee. However, it is also hoped that a fund can be established that will allow a subsidy to those patients who cannot afford the fee. Most older persons, who typically have very limited resources and also suffer from chronic diseases, will require such a subsidy.
A future hope is that health education modules can be continuously screened so that patients can view them as they wait for treatment. The funds for such a technology system are not yet available.
We ask your prayerful support as this project now becomes operative, and perhaps the Spirit will inspire you to support it also with a donation.