Brooklyn Chest TB Hospital

I have decided to do my service for the remainder of the semester at the Brooklyn Chest TB hospital. We went today to have a meeting with our mentor, Yolanda, who is an Occupational Therapist at the hospital. The hospital is set up almost like a little neighborhood. There are different buildings including the wards where the patients stay, schools for the patients, and office buildings for the staff. There are OTs, PTs, Speech Therapists, social workers, nurses, and doctors who work in the hospital. Our meeting went very well and we quickly learned that there are endless things to do to keep us busy. She expressed needs with caring for and stimulating the babies, creating a curriculum for the preschool,and tutoring the older kids in math and reading. The hospital also runs life skills courses so that when adults get out of the hospital they are able to start their own businesses. She suggested we sit in on those courses as well as her OT sessions. She is going to teach us some of the exercises we can do with the children when we are with them. Lastly, she emphasized the importance of just holding the kids especially the babies and talking to them even though they cannot talk back. Many families do not have a relationship with their child in the hospital and rarely visit so the human touch is extremely important in their development. We do have to take precautions especially with the older kids and adults because they are more contagious so we will have to wear masks and gloves. Most of the babies have TB Meningitis, which affects their brain. The babies are not yet coughing as a symptom and that is mostly how it is spread. Hopefully we will have our first official day tomorrow!