Faculty of Medicine (FM), Universitas Indonesia and DoctorSHARE collaborate to provide health services at the Nusa Waluya II Floating Hospital (FH), Wakatobi Regency, Southeast Sulawesi Province. Started on March 21, 2022, it is planned to be continued according to FH’s needs. The cooperation between the two organizations is by sending doctors participating in the Specialist Medical Education Program (SMEP) and FMUI Consultants to the area to provide medical services for the community, such as basic diagnosis and management, community counseling, and sharing knowledge with colleagues at Nusa Waluya II FH.
The Dean of Faculty of Medicine UI, Prof. Dr. dr. Ari Fahrial Syam, SpPD-KGEH, MMB, fully supports this activity. “In the midst of their busy schedules, FMUI-RSCM doctors, both SMEP participants and consultants, still care about and are willing to help remote communities who have difficulty getting access to healthcare. Through this activity, everything that had to be done in big cities can now be handled at the Floating Hospital. We support what DoctorSHARE and other non-governmental organizations are doing, and are ready to work together in providing the best service to the community,” said Prof. Ari.
During the two periods of this collaboration, FMUI has sent 2 doctors from the Department of Internal Medicine, 2 doctors from the Department of Surgery, 1 doctor from the Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care, and 5 doctors from the Department of Ophthalmology. In the field, these doctors treat various diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes, struma (goiter), geriatric problems (health problems in the elderly), osteoarthritis (calcification of the joints), and dyspepsia (digestive disorders). “At that time, for two weeks of service, approximately 200 patients were treated,” said dr. Kresna Adhiatama, doctor of SMEP Level 3 Internal Medicine Study Program.
This community service program also provided cataract surgery and other eye surgery services that were previously difficult for the Wakatobi community to access. According to SMEP participants in Ophthalmology, dr. Muhammad Dio Syaputra, many patients initially could not see and depended on people around them due to ignorance and lack of eye health facilities and services. After the cataract surgery, the patient can now see and perform daily activities independently. This indirectly affects the social and economic life of the patient. To date, 104 patients have undergone cataract surgery and 16 patients have undergone pterygium surgery.
There were various challenges that must be overcome by doctors in the field, including language barrier which can lead to miscommunication. In addition, the weather and limited facilities were also a challenge in Wakatobi. Apart from those problems, dr. Kresna appreciated the performance of Nusa Waluya II FH because of the good services provided by the team. Health workers and support teams were also dedicated to serve.
Apart from contributing to society, this activity also increases the confidence and experience of doctors. They learn to work together in a solid team with new colleagues. According to the Director of Nusa Waluya II FH, dr. Ivan Reynaldo Lubis, this collaboration has a big impact because it helps DoctorSHARE in providing maximum service to people in the islands or underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost areas. This activity gives hope to the people in the islands or underdeveloped areas that they have equal rights and opportunities in obtaining maximum health services, as well as being proof that they are not forgotten or marginalized.
The spirit to educate and nourish the nation has always been the main goal of every community service activity carried out by the FMUI academic community. Providing access to health services for people in remote areas is a concern for the realization of increasing the nation’s health accessibility status. This goal is the reason why FMUI and DoctorSHARE have a collaboration initiated by Prof. Ari and dr. Lie Agustinus Dharmawan, Ph.D, Sp.B, Sp.BTKV as the founder of DoctorSHARE and the first private floating hospital in Indonesia.
