Sanford Health & Global Health Corps: A Partnership for Sustainable Health Systems in Ghana
Sanford Health is a U.S.-based nonprofit working on integrated healthcare delivery systems. The organization leads an initiative called Sanford World Clinics (SWC) with the mission of building and running modern health clinics to provide quality health services to people in both urban and rural areas around the world.
As a Global Health Corps (GHC) alum working as a consultant with a focus on the Pharmacy Supply Chain at Sanford in Ghana, I have been privileged to work with SWC to take healthcare provision to “the last mile”. The best part of this work is having the opportunity to support the country-based team in implementing sustainable plans — I often interact with fellow professionals in the global health sector and I gain new skills daily.
While on work trips to visit community health clinics, known as CHPS (community-based health and planning services), I am amazed at the high quality of the equipment available here. The CHPS are the smallest and lowest level of health facility settings according to the Ghana health protocols. They are managed by either a midwife or a health assistant (enrolled nurse) and the rest of the staff are community health nurses.
The services provided at the CHPS are vital to the communities that they serve on a daily basis. Malaria, respiratory infections, antenatal and postnatal care are the most common conditions reported to the clinics. The community health nurses run community outreach for health information and education sessions on a daily basis, covering malaria, nutrition, family planning and HIV/AIDS. Community outreach is an initiative that helps these healthcare workers stay connected with the people they serve in order to be as useful as possible whenever needed.
Even the smallest of the Sanford Clinics in Ghana have internet access through their own network towers. Sanford laptops help them stay connected and up to date with their monthly reporting. They all operate on the same Sanford network system, and patients’ history and prescriptions are kept confidential on the software to facilitate appropriate care and follow-up.
As Sanford Health is planning to build more health clinics and implement new health systems, Global Health Corps is a critical partner in terms of providing human resources support to fuel this effort.
While we are seeing significant advances in technology and resources, challenges remain in the clinics. As most of the staff members have only had experience working with the government, they need significant support to help them to operate at higher international standards. Another issue that impacts access is the requirement that patients pay cash or produce a National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) card to get service at these clinics or any government health facilities. The insurance card costs approximately six U.S. dollars and is valid for a period of one year. For some, this fee is cost-prohibitive. For others, it is not feasible to travel the long distance from their home to the NHIS office to apply for the card. For these reasons, some people choose to use local herbal treatments rather than visit the health clinics.
Despite these challenges, Sanford Health’s modern clinics are expected to provide high quality healthcare within a reasonable amount of time from the onset of illness for people at “the last mile” who have traditionally lacked access to these services. As Sanford Health is working on expansion plans to build more health clinics and implement new health systems, Global Health Corps is a critical partner in terms of providing human resources support to fuel this effort. GHC fellows exit the program with experience working on global health challenges and increased systems thinking and problem solving skills, making them well poised to join initiatives such as Sanford World Clinics to ensure that health is realized as a human right, everywhere!
