Provision of Basic Primary Care

The KCHC has revolutionize the current health system in Kosrae from one that responds to patient-initiated visits for care at a single location to one that much more proactive and moves services out to the community. The model responds to the steady decrement in United States Federal Compact Health Sector funding and addresses the crippling cost of caring for patients with complications of NCDs by shifting emphasis strongly toward the most cost-effective activities: preventive services and provision of basic primary care.
- Each site of the three sites will be staffed by generalists (one full-time general practitioner/physician, a full-time nurse, and one full-time community health workers), who will provide the broad spectrum of general primary medical care, including reproductive health care, chronic and non- communicable disease monitoring and treatment, developmental screening and services for children, and health education/promotion activities. In addition, KDHS-PH has assigned each of the three communities one half-time (20 hours per week) public health outreach worker for NCD.
- CHC clinical and paraprofessional staff will provide an array of age-appropriate screenings, on-site, including blood sugar, hypertension, BMI, pap smears, visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA), growth/development screening for children, oral health screening, depression, and tobacco use. Clinicians and community health workers will be trained to adhere to a standard and comprehensive set of screening protocols for each life stage. Community health workers will under-take screenings in the homes, community and, when necessary, in the clinic.