| “They asked me to help out in the clinic until they found a sister. After a year, I asked them if they were looking for a sister and they said ‘What do you mean look for a sister?’ That was about six years ago.” Clinic sister Sterna van Rensburg tries to look and sound fierce but she fails miserably. She’s a born carer and nothing – not even her stated desire for a quiet life on the farm – will deter her from seeing to her community’s health needs.
As one of the clinic’s two nursing sisters, Sterna sees patients from babyhood to old age, with cases varying from pre-natal checkups to fingers caught in an onion clipper, from AIDS-related conditions to blood pressure regulation.
The clinic is also home to the Hantam Community Pharmacy, the only dispensing pharmacy in a radius of nearly 150 Km.
“From the moment a baby’s conceived, it’s looked after,” says Lesley Osler. Pregnant mothers are monitored, and they receive supplements and nutritional advice. The foetus is also monitored regularly.
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Primary Health Care & Education
Fact File
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Our dispensing pharmacy is the only one in a radius of nearly 150 Km. |
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Every learner is medically examined every year, helping us identify children whose physical problems might be affecting their classroom performance. |
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Our health care workers make weekly visits to homes in their area. |
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