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Bikur Hollim:
The JHI program at Bikur Hollim has already made a significant impact on the hospital. JHI doctors worked with the Bikur Hollim staff to develop a plan for a state of the art Endoscopy lab. The plan included design of the lab, training of personnel and marketing of the facility to referral sources. JHI secured a grant to fund the equipment and in April, 2002 the lab was opened. The lab will enable Bikur Hollim to attract more patients and patients referred by Rahamim will be able to receive procedures free of charge. JHI ophthalmologists worked with Bikur Hollim staff to design a two-stage lab improvement project in the ophthalmology department. Stage one was completed in April 2002. Bikur Hollim has the only Hospice program in Latvia. Due to limited resources, the program is mixed in with the long-term nursing care floor. JHI volunteers are working with Bikur Hollim staff to redistribute staff and resources to help better meet the needs of both populations on a single nursing floor. The gynecology track is scheduled to begin in April 2003.

Although lectures are sometimes given in Riga, the program is much more of a consultation and modeling format. If lectures are required, it is usually one or two lectures of about 60-90 minutes. Each 90-minute lecture involves about 45-60 minutes worth of material presentation, and 30-45 minutes of translation time. Riga has a PowerPoint projector for your use. Mission participants are also asked to prepare an abstract for each lecture. The abstract should be a detailed one-page summary of the content of each lecture, including key-points and key terms used. This should be similar to an abstract that you would write about a journal article, book chapter or lecture. Translators need two to three weeks to review the materials before hand and prepare all necessary vocabulary. Handouts, PowerPoint slides and other written materials may be translated before the mission and copied for distribution. Mission participants with work with the JHI staff on lecture content and format. Many internet resources are available to aid in lecture preparation. MD Consult is a website that allows you to access medical texts online and search these texts to find fast answers to all your questions. You can subscribe, for a fee at http://home.mdconsult.com Or, register at the www.merckmedicus.com site, and you can link to MD Consult for free.

Wizo Rahamim:
On a mission that has a Bikur Hollim component, the mission spends one day at Rahamim and a half-day visiting the homebound. During the day at Rahamim, the group works together to develop an interactive presentation (including role-plays, presentations etc) on one or two topics requested by the Director of Homecare Services. The home care works are volunteers or low-paid workers with minimum medical background and no medical authority. The home care workers are not trained or authorized to make any medical decisions or diagnoses, however, they do report any medical problems that they observe to the home care coordinator in the Hesed. They visit homebound Hesed clients, making social visits that also include help with food-preparation and basic hygiene. Most of the homebound clients are elderly, and have some physical disability that makes it difficult for them to leave their homes. Some of the clients also suffer from mental disabilities.

On a mission that concentrates on Rahamim, the group spends four days with the homecare workers presenting interactive seminars and visiting a large number of homecare clients. The home visits enable the mission participants to train homecare workers "on the job" and to help improve ongoing procedures and training. In October 2002, a rehabilitation track of occupational and physical therapists and homecare nurses will be introduced. In April 2003, the Rahamim concentration will be on mental health.

Jewish Renewal:
Finally, it is a goal of JHI missions to show participants a wide picture of Jewish renewal in Riga. This includes visits to the Jewish Hospital (Bikur Hollim), "Wizo Rahamim" Jewish Welfare center and the JCC, services at the synagogue in the old part of town, and a trip to Bikerniki, the Holocaust Memorial. In addition, mission participants participate in a Kabbalat Shabbat with Hesed staff and volunteers.