A nurse uses the garage as a “health center” and helps community residents in Recife | Pernambuco

A nurse has set up a “health center” in the garage of her home to serve the residents of Córrego do Sargento, in the Linha do Tiro neighborhood, northern district of Recife, and to meet the historical need for care in the area (see video above). The service also relies on volunteer help from neighborhood nutritionists, psychologists, pediatricians, and dentists.

The initiative came from nurse Joselma Carvalho, 52, who has lived in the community for more than 40 years. The daughter of a nursing technician, when she was still a baby, she would help her mother with the care that was done at the family home for neighbours, such as the removal of surgical sutures.

Joselma followed the same profession as her mother, also becoming a coach. During her internship at Oswaldo Cruz University Hospital, in the neighborhood of Santo Amaro, downtown Recife, she encountered the community’s trust in her.

With nearly two thousand people in the community, attendance has increased, and in 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, she saved up and bought her cousin’s garage. The space has been converted into an office.

According to Guzelma, the office currently serves more than 100 people per month. Inspired by the project, Joselma also says she decided to attend a higher education course in nursing and graduated at the age of 48, after being encouraged by the community and her family.

The nurse said, “We shouldn’t be looking at those we do well, but we do people a favor. And it can’t end, can it? They need us,” said the nurse.

In addition to nursing services, professionals from the community itself, from fields such as nutrition and psychology, volunteer to help neighbors. For volunteer nutritionist Pánmela Patrícia da Silva Santana, it is essential to know how to adapt services to the needs of the population.

“I can’t prescribe a diet, because sometimes patients are so needy, they don’t even have a meal. So, it’s a challenge, but we’ve managed to do nutritional education with everything we have in the house,” he said. .

According to residents, this initiative has made life easier for many. Professor Monteiro de Moraes Health Center is the nearest health center in the area, more than 2 km away. The distance is much heavier because of the narrow streets, with ramps that make access more complicated for those with limited mobility.

To simplify residents’ access, Joselma also acts as an intermediary between residents and the health center, facilitating home care requests for those in need.

“There was a lot of suffering, because there were people who couldn’t go to the office. There’s a lady who had her leg amputated, and Joselma was able to get her care at home,” said manicurist Simone Soares da Silva. of the project beneficiaries.

On site, residents can count on joint efforts, lectures, and jiu-jitsu lessons for kids. All thanks to the volunteer work of people from the community itself. The actions have been posted by Joselma and volunteers in the area’s WhatsApp group.

“What we’re doing here, which in this case the government had to do, the community didn’t have. It’s very important to us,” said nursing technician Vilma da Silva Marquez.

* Interned with editor Pedro Alves.