Medical Support

The Medical Support Department (MSD) is subdivided into the following sections: Counselling Clinic Laboratory Adherence Support Pharmacy The health professionals working in with the MSD include local and internationally trained doctors and nurses. The clinics are operated by the nursing staff with supervision from doctors. All medical staff and volunteers are encouraged to participate in ongoing training such as peer based training during clinical sessions. Clinicians also attend weekly 'Continuing Medical Education' seminars and case conferences.

Counselling

Counseling is provided to all registered Reach Out clients. It is provided for the pre, post and ongoing stages of diagnosis and treatment of HIV/AIDS.

Counseling services that are directly controlled by the counseling department include the following:

Alcoholics Anonymous

These meetings provide an opportunity for clients suffering from alcoholism to share and learn from each others experiences, strength and hope. Sessions are facilitated by trained counselors, who rotate amongst the community according to the following scheduling:

Giza Giza:	First Tuesday of each month
Kinawataka:	Third Thursday of each month
Banda:	Last Friday of each month

Discordance

These meetings are aimed at couples where only one of the partners is HIV positive. The focus is on how to maintain the HIV negative status of the uninfected partner, as well as providing support for the infected partner. Counseling is provided on positive living, disclosure and alcoholism.

Grandmothers Support

As a result of AIDS mortalities there are a large number of grandmothers who are left with the care of their grandchildren. This club aims to provide training and psychosocial support for these grandmothers. Counselors cover topics such as basic communication skills, stress, trauma and depression, stigma and discrimination, life skills and child growth and development.

Aside from the aforementioned services, the counseling department works in conjunction with other Reach Out departments in such clubs as the Saturday Children's club and Post-Test club.

For more information of the above services please refer to our Contact Us page.

Clinics

Reach Out operates at three clinic sites: Kinawataka, covering Kinawataka I and II communities; Mbuya, covering Nakawa and Giza Giza communities; and Banda covering its local community. For detailed information of the schedule for each site please refer to our Clinic Sites page. All Reach Out clinics provide the following services: Screening for opportunistic infections including Tuberculosis (TB) and Cryptococcus Meningitis Diagnosis and treatment of clients Client monitoring (including CD4 count, viral load testing) and follow-up on a monthly schedule Referrals for further investigation/management

Adherence Support Section

The Adherence Support Section (ASSECT) was created in recognition of the importance of our clients adhering to their treatments. Its main objective is to ensure the best quality of care for our clients through close monitoring of their health status and improving their adherence to treatment plans. As with all other programs we rely strongly on community involvement for the success of our various activities.

This section is further subdivided into the following:

Antiretroviral Therapy

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is the backbone of HIV/AIDS medical treatment. In our attempts to ensure maximal adherence to the antiretroviral (ARV) medications we provide education to clients and caregivers, CD4 screening and monitoring, adherence counseling, pre-ARV home assessments and follow-up home visits.

Preventing Mother-to-Child Transmission

Pregnant, HIV positive clients are referred for antenatal care to one of the following: Mulago, Nsambya, Rubaga Hospitals or Naguru Health Centre. Clients are encouraged to deliver their babies at these facilities. Those who are unable to attend health facilities during delivery are given ARVs (Nevirapine) to be taken at the onset of labor.

The attendance and quality of care received by our clients at the health centers is closely monitored by Reach Out Community ARV and TB Treatment Supporters (CATTS). In conjunction Reach Out offers the following programs: couples counseling on Preventing Mother to Child Transmission, infant feeding and immunization, family planning guidance, follow-up of children born to HIV positive mothers as well as general support to the pregnant women.

Tuberculosis Treatment

Successful treatment of TB requires a strict 8 month drug regimen. Therefore we provide adherence counseling and monthly follow-ups until the TB case has been successfully treated.

Pharmacy

Our clients receive all medications free of charge. The pharmacy operates daily from the Mbuya and Kinawataka sites and on Fridays at the Banda clinic. Staff conducting home visits are supplied with general medications for clients unable to attend the clinics.