Providing Free Health Services to 10,000 Villagers

It was late in the afternoon when 21-year-old Yunika was brought to the RMF Health Clinic with heavy vaginal bleeding. She was weak, trembling, and afraid. RMF Clinical Officer Bishnu Sharma received her and found that Yunika’s history suggested that she was in the early stages of pregnancy. She was brought to the clinic by her neighbors, who were unaware of her condition. Yunika had been recently married, and because of this and her youth, she herself was not aware that she was pregnant. That is why she was very frightened by her condition.

Because comprehensive miscarriage and surgical services are not available at the RMF clinic in Arupokhari, Yunika had to be referred to a higher-level health center. Her husband was at work in the village, and until he arrived, she had to be taken care of. RMF Clinical Officer Bishnu secured an IV for the patient and infused two pints of Ringer’s lactate solution. This helped to maintain her fluid balance. Once Yunika’s husband arrived, she was taken to Gorkha District Hospital. There, she was diagnosed with an incomplete miscarriage and provided with post-miscarriage care, as well as counseling on self-care during this critical period. She was then discharged the next day.

After two weeks, Yunika visited the RMF Health Clinic for ferrous sulfate (iron) capsules, and she thanked RMF Clinical Officer Bishnu for saving her life by referring her at the right time. She also expressed her wish that the RMF clinic could directly provide services for such critical conditions, stating that many more women would receive prompt services and asking if RMF Clinical Officer Bishnu could ask the government to extend these essential services.

From January to April 2018, the RMF Health Clinic in Arupokhari, Gorkha has provided free health services to 2,684 patients. Goodwill towards the RMF clinic has spread so far that even patients who live closer to other health centers are traveling to the RMF Health Clinic, because we ensure the availability of medicines throughout the year and provide them at subsidized rates. RMF clinicians are also well respected and appreciated because they are providing health services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the mountain village of Arupokhari, where even the government has not been able to provide these services.