Clinical Conclusion

Over the past few days within the Cherokee Indian hospital, I have noticed that the most critical issues that have developed are drug use and frequent abuse of the detoxing system within healthcare. According to the hospital staff, there have been over one hundred overdoses brought to the hospital alone within the month of June 2017. The hospital is seeing more and more patients coming to the hospital experiencing drug overdose not once, but multiple times throughout their life. While some of them are treated and sent home, others are involuntarily committed and are put through a detoxification program in hopes to lower the occurrence of drug overdose.

Other prevalent conditions include diabetes along with drug use. After talking to patients, there did not seem to be one type of diabetes more prevalent than the other among those living within the reservation. This can be related back to poor food choices within the reservation itself. While visiting this past week, I have noticed a plethora of fast food options along with greasy, home cooked meals within most of the restaurants we traveled to. Another factor leading to poor food choices can be related to the poverty seen within the reservation. Multiple families rely entirely on the money that is distributed semi-annually by the reservation to provide for their families. Because this money is consistently distributed, some families do not obtain jobs to bring in addition revenue.

A health promotion strategy to be provided to these patients has to start with education. When a patient is diagnosed with a condition such as diabetes, there is so much education that needs to take place between the healthcare provider and the patient to ensure the patient is able to properly care for them at home. For example, patients with diabetes need to know how to properly test their blood sugar, how to act and adjust if they are to become ill, and signs and symptoms of low blood sugar and how to raise blood sugar in a safe and stable manner. Other education to be provided to these patients can stem back to nutrition. Although the restaurant options are not the healthiest within the reservation, there are grocery stores within the boundaries filled with healthy foods like fruits and vegetables to provide education to patients. Health prevention strategies for these patients can be worked into the health promotion strategies discussed earlier to ensure that patients are receiving the most holistic care within the hospital. Along with education about health conditions and nutrition, health prevention strategies should also include education about the dangers of drug and alcohol to children within the reservation. I was given the opportunity as a child to participate in the D.A.R.E program. According to D.A.R.E (2017), “D.A.R.E. is a police officer-led series of classroom lessons that teaches children from kindergarten through 12th grade how to resist peer pressure and live productive drug and violence-free lives” (D.A.R.E AMERICA 2017). This is just one program used within the United States that could potentially be helpful for children living within the reservation to receive more information about the dangers of drugs and violence.

After the past view days of observing the Cherokee culture, I have concluded that the Cherokee Indian hospital is the center of healthcare within the community. The building itself provides residents of Cherokee with an opportunity to meet all their healthcare needs within one building. For example, if a patient were to come into the emergency room, they would be seen by a doctor, then taken to radiology for an XRAY, then taken to pharmacy before departing the building to receive their medication. In addition to those services, patients can also make dental, acupuncture, and chiropractor appointments within the Cherokee Indian hospital. Compared to my community at home, there are multiple different buildings that offer multiple different services, even through different hospital chains. Patients have lots of options about physicians and facilities in which to receive their healthcare. However, within Cherokee, these patients are provided with a “One stop shop” for healthcare options.

 Reference

D.A.R.E AMERICA. (2017). About. Retrieved from http://www.dare.org/about-d-a-r-e/