Posted on: May 27, 2014Chicago
This post was written by CHC member Ashley Jerominski.
Series: Global Health
Ashley serves at the Respiratory Health Association as an Asthma Educator.
During college I spent one month in Trujillo, Peru volunteering at Centro de Salud Victor Larco, a medical clinic that serves women and children. The physicians and nurses I worked with at the clinic were extremely dedicated to improving the health status of the entire community, and put considerable effort into preventing disease in the town. For instance, after physicians in the area noticed a spike in dengue fever (a disease spread by mosquitoes), I spent one day going door-to-door in the surrounding community teaching people how to keep their outdoor water tanks free from mosquitoes. This whole community approach to healthcare was not something I was expecting to encounter in a large, urban town.
Flash forward three years. I am now serving vulnerable neighborhoods of Chicago as an Asthma Educator through my host site, Respiratory Health Association. I educate children, parents, and school staff members about asthma warning signs, triggers, and medications with the hopes of helping children control their asthma. Through my Chicago Health Corps experience, I have learned that controlled asthma takes teamwork: healthcare providers, guardians, school staff, and the children themselves must work together to reduce asthma flare ups. Without a network of support, controlling a chronic disease becomes much more difficult.
Although the distance between Trujillo, Peru and Chicago, Illinois is 3,500 miles, my experiences have been strikingly similar. In Peru, I was inspired by how the doctors and nurses I worked with advocated for the entire community by promoting healthy lifestyles and helping prevent disease. Likewise, in Chicago, I have seen how community support and teamwork plays an important role in controlling chronic illnesses. Although global health refers to the health of populations in a larger context, in the end, community support is the common thread that links all people of the world together.