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2006 Changes to Existing ProgramsUnder the direction of M. Yasin Farid, PARSA will be dividing its physiotherapy services into two areas - services to disabled patients and services to non-disabled patients. The majority of the staff will work with disabled patients. Services to the community of non-disabled patients will continue, but these services will have their own dedicated staff and treatment room. Additionally, we will be creating a computerized system for tracking each patient's progress. All of our physiotherapists will be trained in psychosocial services, working under the supervision of Dr. Norm Gustavson and an Afghan medical doctor. We will be providing simple but effective treatment programs for patients who are experiencing symptoms of mental illness. This program, Psychosocial Services in Primary Healthcare for Disabled Persons, will be developed as a pilot program to be replicated in other clinical settings. PARSA is seeking separate funding for this component and intends to offer the training developed in this program to the staff of three other agencies that are working with the disabled population. Operational changes will include the addition of an accountant to our staff to provide sound financial management. OutreachOur clinic director will be establishing two new outreach clinics - one in Paghman associated with PARSA’s literacy program, and one in collaboration with Morningstar Development. We have agreed to include three Morningstar staff members in our psychological training this year and we will be providing physiotherapy services for the disabled a minimum of two days a week in each of these communities. Karte-Seh Clinic and Training CenterPARSA's physiotherapy clinic will continue to provide quality training services to certify physiotherapists and physiotherapists assistants. In the clinic, students will have the opportunity to learn theory and also participate in a very active clinic that serves over 200 patients a month with "hands on" application of their learning. Expanding on the core curriculum as approved by the Ministry of Health, PARSA will augment this training with additional training that will provide essential skills for caregivers providing services to disabled patients. Training components will include the following: Job Development Support Training:This component teaches a caregiver how to advise a patient on what jobs to pursue so that the disabled worker will choose a job path that they can be successful accomplishing. Psychosocial Training for the CaregiverWorking with disabilities can be very difficult emotionally leading to the caregiver distancing him or herself from the patients, which results in a poor quality of care. Psychosocial training for the caregiver provides tools for these students to cope productively with the difficult demands of their job. Social Work TrainingBasic training about the role of a social worker will provide these students with an awareness of how effective "follow up" care can be in any treatment plan. Research shows that "follow up" care increases the efficacy of any disabled person’s care. This component will be a general overview of a social workers role and how to follow a "treatment plan" when providing "follow up" care. Training the TrainerWe will also be training staff so that they can train other clinicians as the program is replicated in other organizations. Additional staff will be hired to implement the "livelihoods" program. It is our intent that they be in a position to train other professionals in this work by the end of the year. Training materials for the "livelihoods" program will be completed as a part of this contract.
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