Nutrition and Health Center
Por Cristo's Nutrition and Health Center began operating in the Isla Trinitaria section of Guayaquil 19 years ago. Initally as a Nutrition Center focused on malnutrition of infants and children, we transitioned early on to provide prenatal care and over time began offering an array of preventive and curative services - always focused on the marginalized poor. The Center provides care to some of the most vulnerable – women and children under age five. Over the years, our Center has evolved into a primary health care center where more than 6,000 patients received over 18,000 medical and nutritional consults last year. Seventy-seven percent of those seen were children under the age of five and women of childbearing age.
Our dedicated team includes a pediatrician, nutritionist, gynecologist, dentist, psychologist and a general practitioner.
Key services include:
- Immunizations
- Growth Monitoring
- Pre- and post-natal care
- Nutrition
- Dentistry
- Respiratory care
- General primary health care
Por Cristo's Nutrition and Health Center also implements important community outreach activities which include:
- The Girls Self-Esteem Initiative
- School Dental Health Program
- HIV/AIDS Awareness
- Community and Home Visits
We had a significant increase in outreach activities this past year. Eleven schools participated in our School Dental Health activities, which reached more than 2,500 school children with weekly fluoride rinses and general dental health talks.
Por Cristo's Girls Self Esteem initiative has expanded to a second school. Sessions faciliated by our clinic's gynecologist and psychologist enable pre-teens and teenage girls to discuss their dreams and goals for the future. Group activities to build self esteem include topics such as their bodies and body image, assertiveness, building supportive peer relationships, and goal setting to help them reach their full potential.
Our HIV/AIDS work focuses on health education about HIV and preventing vertical transmission of the virus from mother to child. Almost all of the pregnant women we have seen for prenatal care have opted for pre-testing. Fortunately, women testing positive have been rare. In the event there is a positive result, the woman is referred to an HIV/AIDS specialty clinic for in-depth follow up.
