Young doctor on a mission to make healthcare affordable for the less fortunate

It’s a harsh fact that people who live in poor rural or urban communities are more likely to have health problems and experience limited access to health care. 

Dr. Anita Sarah Verghese

Some private hospitals have increased their prices for various services, while some hospitals are suffering from a shortage of doctors. But the communities with the greatest shortage of doctors also tend to be the areas with the highest poverty. 

Patients there struggle to afford and access health care, while doctors face challenges related to compensation and patient communication. But there is hope. 

One doctor who has been working assiduously to break these gaps is 24-year-old Anita Sarah Verghese. Sarah idolized Mother Teresa of Calcutta growing up and dreamed of creating affordable medical care facilities for the less fortunate. 

Sarah was born to parents Joy Verghese and Suma Verghese. She noted that her father always taught her the importance of having an education. 

While my dreams sounded expensive, my father told me that I could achieve anything through education and knowledge. He also told me that knowledge is power, a power that nobody could take away from her achieving her goals.

Determined to make her goals a reality, Sarah worked hard and received multiple medical school scholarship programs in Qatar, the United States of America (USA), and the Caribbean. 

Dr. Anita relayed that she grew up with a strict Christian family who partake in quite a number of humanitarian activities. This, she said, also sparked her passion for helping people. 

I have seen people here in Guyana benefited tremendously from my humanitarian activities. Guyana is a land of so much potential simply because of its diversity and opportunities.

This young doctor started her career in the medical field when she enrolled with the Texila American University with a dual degree of a Bachelor of Science and Medical Doctor MD (BSMD). She then began her internship at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). 

Soon to write her Caribbean Medical Boards, which is on pause due to the coronavirus pandemic. The doctor uses her knowledge from her mentors in her free time to educate children and adults at the special needs, nursing homes, and orphanages.

Dr. Sarah credited her success to mentors and teachers at the GPHC who helped her to complete medical school. 

Special thanks to – Dr. Genellys Fernandez Camps (Internal medicine), Dr. Clive Bowmen and Dr. Seepersaud Chatterdeo (Pediatrics), Dr. Fawcett Jeffrey and Dr. David Samaroo (Orthopedics), Dr. Rafi Rozan and Dr. Lucio Pedro (OBGYN), Dr. Bairo Harry, Dr. Odalys Mirabal Benitez and Dr. Zenia Lopez ( Psychiatry), Dr. Ravi Motilal, Dr. Sheik Ameir and Dr.Ravindranath Rambaran (General Surgery), Dr. Eddy Fernandez (Dermatology), Dr. Yogesh Etwaru (Cardiology), Dr. Sudhir Sharma (ENT).

She has also created a website: https://archangelmedcare.com that promotes sales for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in which she is in the process of registering an NGO in which $2USD of every purchase will be donated towards charity in Guyana. 

The NGO will be registered under – Archangel Charity programme to raise money and awareness for COVID-19 and preventive care for unprivileged people. 

In her spare time, she would usually conduct small medical seminars for families, nursing homes, and public gatherings on COVID-19. Her informative classes include lessons for children on how to make their own sanitizer, proper use of personal protective wear, and working on their immunity and effective prevention of the spread of the virus.

She would also like to encourage everyone to educate themselves on the importance of building their immunity by consuming at least 1000 milligrams of Vitamin C for adults and children. This, she noted, helps the body to fight off COVID-19 along with any infections. 

Another remedy is to consume a lot of citrus fruits with a healthy diet and a fitness regime.

I also urge you to stay home so we can reduce the spread of this virus. Also, please don’t forget your personal protective wear and to sanitize as frequently as possible. This will help to keep your family safe, and the public servants safe as it’s what you can do for someone with nothing in return.

Sarah aspires to do her post-graduate studies in General Surgery and re-constructional surgery specializing in burn victims’ needs, cleft lip surgery, and other congenital disabilities. Also, she would like to do more humanitarian work in the medical field.