TB Patients Benefit from Renovated Clinic in Georgia
FrontLines - March 2010
By Michael O’Brien
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A tuberculosis treatment center in Kareli before and after
renovation.
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GORI, Georgia—As a patient
at the Gori DOTS Spot tuberculosis
clinic, Giorgi A. knows well
the stigma some have attached to
people with the disease. His wife
burned the educational materials
he brought home from the clinic
and he feels isolated from his
friends and family.
Still, he is thankful for the
treatment he receives at the facility,
newly renovated with USAID
assistance, that uses internationally
accepted direct observation
techniques (DOTS). “It makes
me realize that my situation is not
hopeless,” he said. “I know every
time I come here that someone
cares about me.”
Giorgi A.’s feelings are echoed
by the staff and patients of the
clinic, which is comfortable and
inviting. This is important since
treatment for tuberculosis requires
six to eight months of daily visits
so patients can receive their medicines.
It is crucial that patients
complete the treatment or they
risk developing drug-resistant
forms of the disease, which can be
incurable.
Tuberculosis rates in Georgia
are much higher than in the rest
of Europe. And following the
August 2008 conflict with Russia,
the uncertainty surrounding
the Russian-controlled buffer
zone in Shida Kartli, and the
future of the internally displaced
people, many patients were at
risk of missing treatments and
others were at risk of not being
diagnosed at all.
To curb the public health
threat and to jump-start improved
treatment in Shida Kartli, USAID
expanded its existing tuberculosis
program to renovate four treatment
facilities there and train
medical providers.
At the start of the project,
tuberculosis facilities in Shida
Kartli were, at best, rundown.
Many looked more like condemned
buildings than medical
treatment facilities.
Thirty-seven-year-old Giorgi
B. is another patient at the Gori
clinic. He hasn’t noticed the
stigma attached to tuberculosis
that many other Georgians experience.
Younger people are more
knowledgeable about the disease,
he said.
Giorgi B. was diagnosed with
a multi-drug resistant form of
tuberculosis, and faces up to two
years in treatment. The new
facility has helped him keep a
positive outlook.
“It is a big factor,” he said. “It
has created a secure, calm, welcoming
family. I feel safe and
protected here.”
Dr. Manana Gongadze,
regional coordinator for Georgia’s
National Tuberculosis Program,
said a positive psychological outlook
is important for the recovery
process, and she has seen the
effects on the staff and patients. “It
is a long treatment program, and it
is easy to get discouraged,” she
said. “The new facilities help the
staff remain positive, which helps
the patients to remain in high spirits.
The high spirits help the healing
process.”
Dr. Gongadze hears every day
how much the staff and patients
appreciate the new clinics.
“It was humiliating to work or
get treatment in the old buildings,”
she said. “These new facilities
have helped to restore dignity.
They show our patients that people
care for them. It gives them
hope that they aren’t forgotten.”
Last names have been omitted
to protect patient confidentiality.
★
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