Clínica Verde – Building a New Model of Care for Families in Need
- Health education
- Infant health
- Maternal health
- Reproductive health
- Sustainable development
- Sustainability
- Wellness
Example: Walk us through a specific example(s) of how this solution makes a difference; include its primary activities.
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Founding Story
Susan
Dix Lyons
Clinica Verde
, CA, Napa County
, BO
1‐5 years
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Operating for less than a year
Clínica Verde’s clinic provides high-quality healthcare to poor women and children in an environmentally sustainable, responsibly designed facility. Clínica Verde proposes a novel social environment where patients can improve their health interactively – by receiving the highest quality health care and participating in nutrition and health education. Clínica Verde will provide a medical home for 4,000 children for 12,000 visits per year and prenatal care for 1,500 high-risk pregnancies for 6,000 visits per year. The clinic aims to reduce by 20% the number of hospitalizations for infant dehydration, infant mortality and the number of babies of low birth weight. The clinic will also focus on adolescent fertility, given that 25% of all pregnancies in Nicaragua are to adolescent mothers.
Clínica Verde opened its doors to Boaco and the surrounding countryside on January 4, 2012. In its first month of operation, Clínica Verde had 837 patient visits, including 231 children under the age of 9. Treatment ranged from dehydration and flu to prenatal care for pregnant women. As Clínica Verde continues its outreach to outlying areas and as the community begins to develop trust in the promise of the clinic, we are seeing demand grow exponentially.
In these early weeks of the clinic's operation, the primary quantifiable benefit of the clinic has been economic. Consistent with its mission of environmental sustainability, construction of the facility, which was completed in mid-2011, used locally sourced materials and supplies, as well as local labor. This approach infused significant economic stimulus into the community of Boaco and nearby towns. Additionally, the clinic is providing 10 well-paying jobs in a very poor area, with that number projected to grow over time.
Nicaragua’s Ministry of Health has defined maternal, infant and perinatal mortality as a priority, consistent with the UN Millennium Development goals. Clínica Verde will support this, with the aim of significantly reducing mortality, improving pre- and postnatal standards of care, and empowering women to care for families through better nutrition and improved hygiene in the home. Through a sustained campaign of education and partnerships with schools, nonprofits, and local businesses, we will target the high rate of adolescent fertility by providing health care and education, as well as opportunities for young women. One of our five-year goals is to train teen girls as community health care workers, providing an opportunity to effect change and promoting a sense of self-esteem.
Clinica Verde will treat 300 women and 700 children/month with a package of high-quality, high-impact interventions.
Comply with Ministry of Health regulations, implement basic package of services, implement protocols & standards
Manage Medical Outcomes: Develop and monitor a system of data collection to track health goals
Community outreach: Family, children and pregnant women census; implement referral system; train community volunteers
Provide care to 500 women & 1,000 children/mo.; expand community outreach; and achieve 80% of quality standards in all services.
Comparative benchmarking of first year data: Application of quality standards measurements semi-annually on each service
Outreach: Continued training of teen and other community health volunteers/leaders to conduct community outreach
Technology: Implement electronic medical records to facilitate real-time patient monitoring, impact analysis, and recordkeeping
Our partners include foundations, corporate/individual donors, and in-kind gifts. Among our many supporters are: COFRA Foundation, Vista Hermosa Foundation, John C. Griswold Foundation, Grace Episcopal Church, Violeta Chamorro Foundation, American Nicaraguan Foundation, Clif Bar Family Foundation, Cornucopia Family Foundation, Christadelphian Meal a Day Fund of the Americas, and the Grace Family Foundation. In-kind service has been provided by Valley Architects of St. Helena, CA, and Archilogix of Santa Rosa, CA. We have had a project page on Global Giving and Google Grants since 2008.
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Clínica Verde provides a clean, sustainable, caring environment for vulnerable populations, allowing women and children to receive high-quality care in a welcoming and safe environment. The sustainable building principles provide natural light, clean water, and operational efficiency to ensure that our patients have a high-quality experience. Each patient will be triaged by an LPN and each patient will see a physician who will determine the best course of treatment. Clínica Verde will implement one of Nicaragua’s first electronic medical records systems, providing accurate patient histories, real-time reporting, and 24-hour access for physicians to patient data. Our comprehensive system of education and monitoring will enable measurable progress against significant healthcare inequities.
A number of organizations have approached us for our sophisticated architectural plans and concept. We are currently working on a purchasing agreement for use of these plans. We are also exploring with an intellectual property attorney the possibility of one day franchising Clinica Verde.