Wednesday, January 7, 2015
OICC vs. ICC vs. ETC (AKA: what are you actually doing?)
When I explained to people what I would be doing in Sierra Leone, I was somewhat vague. This was somewhat intentional since I wasn't entirely sure. Now, with two days of experience I'll try to make it as clear to you all as it is to me (so, not all that clear really).
The Ebola response involves a number of different centers that all have their own acronym: OICC, ICC, and ETC. There are probably other kinds of centers as well, but these are the ones I know about.
In the simplest possible terms:
1) At ETC (Ebola Treatment Center) is where they treat patients with Ebola
2) An ICC (Interim Care Center) is where they provide temporary care for children who do not have Ebola and who have not been exposed to Ebola as far as anyone knows, but also do not have another living situation available
3) And OICC (Observational Interim Care Center) is where children who have been exposed to Ebola but do not have any symptoms complete their 21 day quarantine if they are not able to do it at home because there is not a caregiver available
So, I am the OICC Programme Manager with GOAL, an Irish nonprofit. GOAL itself runs one OICC and will be opening two more, but my job is a bit broader than that. As these OICCs have been sprouting up throughout the country, there has been a steep learning curve for organizations. In short, and OICC requires a combination of child protection, psychosocial, and infection control expertise that very few organizations have. GOAL has put together a team of 6 nurses who specialize in OICCs and our job is to provide training and support to OICCs throughout the country and make sure they are running correctly. My job, specifically, is to supervise this group of 6 nurses and be the focal point for OICCs for GOAL. So, that's what I'm doing. Well, what I'm supposed to be doing anyway. I would say I still have a lot to learn.
While I'm here, I might as well give you a little glimpse into my day to day life as well. I live in a 4 story house with other international staff. Each floor is self-sufficient and I live on the 3rd floor with two of my colleagues. We have a love balcony where we have our coffee in the morning and the house itself is pretty nice. However, there have been some challenges like my search for a can opener, which ended today, and my search for a coffee maker/french press/something, which is ongoing. And our mattresses, which have zero give and feel kind of like sleeping on a piece of wood.
The city itself is really quite nice and we have a great view. I put some photos on Facebook already, but I'll try to put some more up soon. The infection control here is really intense. There are buckets full of chlorine water with little spigots where you have to wash your hands before you go in anywhere from grocery stores to restaurants to our office. At the office, we have to have our temperature taken by an infrared thermometer before we can go in and if it's too high we aren't allowed in.
As GOAL staff, we aren't allowed to drive so we go everywhere with either a GOAL driver or a hired car. The car comes to our house at 7:30 every morning so we all help make sure everyone is up and make our coffee (in a little crazy thing on the stove... not quite up to my standards I'm afraid) then we all go off together to the office.
Overall I'm really liking things so far. It's been easy to jump into the job and I'm enjoying getting to know all of my colleagues. I'm still fighting jet lag, which has had me waking up at all hours of the night so far. I think I'm still on a bit of a high since I've just arrived and I know things will surely get more difficult with time, but so far, so good.
The Ebola response involves a number of different centers that all have their own acronym: OICC, ICC, and ETC. There are probably other kinds of centers as well, but these are the ones I know about.
In the simplest possible terms:
1) At ETC (Ebola Treatment Center) is where they treat patients with Ebola
2) An ICC (Interim Care Center) is where they provide temporary care for children who do not have Ebola and who have not been exposed to Ebola as far as anyone knows, but also do not have another living situation available
3) And OICC (Observational Interim Care Center) is where children who have been exposed to Ebola but do not have any symptoms complete their 21 day quarantine if they are not able to do it at home because there is not a caregiver available
So, I am the OICC Programme Manager with GOAL, an Irish nonprofit. GOAL itself runs one OICC and will be opening two more, but my job is a bit broader than that. As these OICCs have been sprouting up throughout the country, there has been a steep learning curve for organizations. In short, and OICC requires a combination of child protection, psychosocial, and infection control expertise that very few organizations have. GOAL has put together a team of 6 nurses who specialize in OICCs and our job is to provide training and support to OICCs throughout the country and make sure they are running correctly. My job, specifically, is to supervise this group of 6 nurses and be the focal point for OICCs for GOAL. So, that's what I'm doing. Well, what I'm supposed to be doing anyway. I would say I still have a lot to learn.
While I'm here, I might as well give you a little glimpse into my day to day life as well. I live in a 4 story house with other international staff. Each floor is self-sufficient and I live on the 3rd floor with two of my colleagues. We have a love balcony where we have our coffee in the morning and the house itself is pretty nice. However, there have been some challenges like my search for a can opener, which ended today, and my search for a coffee maker/french press/something, which is ongoing. And our mattresses, which have zero give and feel kind of like sleeping on a piece of wood.
The city itself is really quite nice and we have a great view. I put some photos on Facebook already, but I'll try to put some more up soon. The infection control here is really intense. There are buckets full of chlorine water with little spigots where you have to wash your hands before you go in anywhere from grocery stores to restaurants to our office. At the office, we have to have our temperature taken by an infrared thermometer before we can go in and if it's too high we aren't allowed in.
As GOAL staff, we aren't allowed to drive so we go everywhere with either a GOAL driver or a hired car. The car comes to our house at 7:30 every morning so we all help make sure everyone is up and make our coffee (in a little crazy thing on the stove... not quite up to my standards I'm afraid) then we all go off together to the office.
Overall I'm really liking things so far. It's been easy to jump into the job and I'm enjoying getting to know all of my colleagues. I'm still fighting jet lag, which has had me waking up at all hours of the night so far. I think I'm still on a bit of a high since I've just arrived and I know things will surely get more difficult with time, but so far, so good.
Monday, January 5, 2015
Serendipity
It's not often that one thinks, "Man, I'm really glad that I got Dengue," but I really am quite glad. The following things happened because I came down with Dengue:
1) I had enough time to pack up my apartment
2) I got to spend New Year's Eve with my Boston loves and see some very impressive cross-dressing
3) I had time for a Cheesecake Factory trip where I discovered the best cheesecake I have ever eaten (Dulce de Leche, try it)
4) I got to have some cheese covered Mexican food with my fellow punching enthusiast
5) I watched an entire season of American Horror Story and also spent some quality time with Charlie Kelly
6) I ended up sitting in front of the girl who hired me on the flight to Sierra Leone so I had someone to guide me through the rather complicated process of getting to my new home
I don't have much to share yet, but I thought that there were enough people that are anxious to know how it's going that a little post was in order.
As some of you may know, the only phone I have is my work phone, so I had to leave it at my apartment when I left. I was meeting my good friend Gina at a T station in Quincy so we could drive to the airport together and she could take my car. As it happens, we were running late. So you can picture me, sitting at at T station waiting for Gina with no phone and thinking I was going to miss the flight. I was the picture of tranquility, or course. And we made it with no problem, so my anxiety was unnecessary, as per usual. I spent my last few moments with Gina ravenously devouring the last bits of my cheesecake from the night before. As they say, a journey of a thousand miles starts with one bite of cheesecake.
In the first 12 hours of my trip, I only managed to make it to New Jersey, so that was rather frustrating but then things really got moving. From New Jersey I was on a 6 or 7 hour flight to Brussels. It was delayed for an hour or two on the tarmac, which I handled with much more patience than I thought I had. I guess I've gotten used to these things, but I still usually lose it at least once in every journey. Then after a short layover in Brussels, it was on to Sierra Leone. Just as a note, the Brussels airport was much less impressive than I had expected. Sadly, it was just like any other airport I'd ever been to.
On the flight to Sierra Leone, I thought that the girl behind me had a familiar voice and I found myself wondering if it was Erin, who was one of the girls who interviewed me for my job with GOAL. However, I didn't want to be the creeper who eavesdrops and then jumps into a conversation, so I didn't say anything until we landed. And, as it turns out, it was her along with a guy named Sam, who will also be working with GOAL and happens to be from Boston. So, I had a lovely guide to help me through immigration, the health scan, waiting for bags, buying the ticket to the boat, waiting for the boat for an hour and a half or so, and putting me in the car that would take me to my home. These are the things that you would never expect to have happen, but sometimes the universe is looking out for you.
I'm staying at a three story house in Freetown with a lovely view and huge balconies on every floor. The first shower I had was hot, but I've been told not to always expect that. I think that I have to move bedrooms later tonight, but the house seems like it will be a nice place to be based. Today I've managed to try to stay awake at the times that I'm supposed to, despite the 6 hour time difference, changed money, and bought groceries. Tomorrow I'll go into the office and have another GOAL induction (number 4, by my count) and hopefully start to figure out what the heck I'm supposed to be doing. I'll keep you posted!
Ah, I also had my first Sierra Leone faux pas when I tried to shake hands with a new colleague and was gently reminded that "we don't shake hands here." Ah, yes. That one will take a bit to get used to.
1) I had enough time to pack up my apartment
2) I got to spend New Year's Eve with my Boston loves and see some very impressive cross-dressing
3) I had time for a Cheesecake Factory trip where I discovered the best cheesecake I have ever eaten (Dulce de Leche, try it)
4) I got to have some cheese covered Mexican food with my fellow punching enthusiast
5) I watched an entire season of American Horror Story and also spent some quality time with Charlie Kelly
6) I ended up sitting in front of the girl who hired me on the flight to Sierra Leone so I had someone to guide me through the rather complicated process of getting to my new home
I don't have much to share yet, but I thought that there were enough people that are anxious to know how it's going that a little post was in order.
As some of you may know, the only phone I have is my work phone, so I had to leave it at my apartment when I left. I was meeting my good friend Gina at a T station in Quincy so we could drive to the airport together and she could take my car. As it happens, we were running late. So you can picture me, sitting at at T station waiting for Gina with no phone and thinking I was going to miss the flight. I was the picture of tranquility, or course. And we made it with no problem, so my anxiety was unnecessary, as per usual. I spent my last few moments with Gina ravenously devouring the last bits of my cheesecake from the night before. As they say, a journey of a thousand miles starts with one bite of cheesecake.
In the first 12 hours of my trip, I only managed to make it to New Jersey, so that was rather frustrating but then things really got moving. From New Jersey I was on a 6 or 7 hour flight to Brussels. It was delayed for an hour or two on the tarmac, which I handled with much more patience than I thought I had. I guess I've gotten used to these things, but I still usually lose it at least once in every journey. Then after a short layover in Brussels, it was on to Sierra Leone. Just as a note, the Brussels airport was much less impressive than I had expected. Sadly, it was just like any other airport I'd ever been to.
On the flight to Sierra Leone, I thought that the girl behind me had a familiar voice and I found myself wondering if it was Erin, who was one of the girls who interviewed me for my job with GOAL. However, I didn't want to be the creeper who eavesdrops and then jumps into a conversation, so I didn't say anything until we landed. And, as it turns out, it was her along with a guy named Sam, who will also be working with GOAL and happens to be from Boston. So, I had a lovely guide to help me through immigration, the health scan, waiting for bags, buying the ticket to the boat, waiting for the boat for an hour and a half or so, and putting me in the car that would take me to my home. These are the things that you would never expect to have happen, but sometimes the universe is looking out for you.
I'm staying at a three story house in Freetown with a lovely view and huge balconies on every floor. The first shower I had was hot, but I've been told not to always expect that. I think that I have to move bedrooms later tonight, but the house seems like it will be a nice place to be based. Today I've managed to try to stay awake at the times that I'm supposed to, despite the 6 hour time difference, changed money, and bought groceries. Tomorrow I'll go into the office and have another GOAL induction (number 4, by my count) and hopefully start to figure out what the heck I'm supposed to be doing. I'll keep you posted!
Ah, I also had my first Sierra Leone faux pas when I tried to shake hands with a new colleague and was gently reminded that "we don't shake hands here." Ah, yes. That one will take a bit to get used to.
Friday, January 2, 2015
One more last night
There's something disconcerting about sitting in a place that has been your home with all (or almost all) of the traces of your personality removed. Exactly three years ago, I was unpacking my car and trying to make Boston feel like home. And now, I'm trying to come to terms with leaving yet another home.
I find myself much less emotional than I had expected to be. I think there may still be a part of me that can't come to terms with the idea that tomorrow at this point I'll be several hours into my trip to Sierra Leone. Of course, having my departure delayed by a week may be part of that. I was supposed to leave last Saturday, but I came down with a little case of dengue fever and my doctor told me that I would not be getting on a plane last week. Luckily, I'm feeling fine now and I'm ready to go. At least physically.
I'm afraid I don't really have too much deep thoughts to share on my last night in Boston. I just feel thankful for the support I've had from family and friends over the last several weeks as I've prepared to make this leap. I have no idea what to expect down there, but I know it will be an unforgettable experience. So.... stay tuned!
I find myself much less emotional than I had expected to be. I think there may still be a part of me that can't come to terms with the idea that tomorrow at this point I'll be several hours into my trip to Sierra Leone. Of course, having my departure delayed by a week may be part of that. I was supposed to leave last Saturday, but I came down with a little case of dengue fever and my doctor told me that I would not be getting on a plane last week. Luckily, I'm feeling fine now and I'm ready to go. At least physically.
I'm afraid I don't really have too much deep thoughts to share on my last night in Boston. I just feel thankful for the support I've had from family and friends over the last several weeks as I've prepared to make this leap. I have no idea what to expect down there, but I know it will be an unforgettable experience. So.... stay tuned!
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