On August 1st, 2015, Rangjung Yeshe Shenpen organized a medical camp for the children at Papa’s home. The Shenpen Medical team was led by Carrie Sengleman, a qualified nurse practitioner and committee chair of the Shenpen health program, Marsha Dupar – a qualified nurse and helped by another nurse ArchanaMandal. Many children were diagnosed with conditions and were prescribed medication, which was provided by Carrie Sengleman. If any of them need further medical attention, it will be funded by Shenpen/C.H.A.N.C.E. for NEPAL.

For this medical camp the focus was on providing physical checkups for all the children to determine the general status of their health. This was also an opportunity for the medical team to learn more about any ongoing pain or symptoms that are present, or any other health concerns the children may have. The children were also checked for possible diseases and if necessary received the appropriate medicine.

The Nurses were also looking to identify any preventable issues that may become a concern in the future by evaluating recent blood tests and by using growth and development charts to see which children need extra nutrition.  Height and weight can be compared to international standards to determine if stunting has occurred.  Throughout Nepal, stunting is more likely to occur in rural areas (42% of children under the age of 5) versus urban areas (27%).

One issue that was identified through the blood tests in a significant amount of the children was anemia.Ten of the children will need iron supplements daily to increase their hemoglobin levels and the nurses discussed how to support their diets with iron rich foods with the caretakers. These children should have 1-2 servings/day of these iron rich foods for four weeks. After these children have been on iron for 4 weeks, call the pharmacist back for another hgb draw to check if there has been an increase.

We would like to express our sincere thanks to Carrie Sengleman, Marsha Dupar and Archana Mandal! The ability to provide the children of Papa’s Home with access to high quality medical care means that the children will be able to thrive in their environment.  The energy and spirit of the team really helped in making the health camp a success.