March started with good news for the patients of the physical medicine and rehabilitation unit of the main health facility of the Province of Limarí, since the institution reported that starting this month, Dr. Anahis Vera will join their team. , a physiatrist who will lead the multidisciplinary team specialized in the treatment of pathologies of the musculoskeletal system.
Dr. Vera explained that the function of her unit is “both to prevent and to diagnose, treat and, of course, rehabilitate those adult or child patients who may have an injury, illness or disorder, whether partial, temporary or even permanent, that is to cause some limitation in its functionality or disability”.
And it is that physiatry seeks that this type of patients can promptly reintegrate into their daily activities in the workplace and recreation, with better functional capacity, independence and quality of life.
The specialist will lead a multidisciplinary team for rehabilitation that is made up of kinesiologists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, social workers and a psychologist. These professionals seek not only to cover the patient’s recovery, “but we also support the family, since reactivating the patient’s network is essential in recovery,” according to Dr. Vera.
Most of the diagnoses that this unit will attend will be mostly neurological, trauma, cardiopulmonary pathologies, people with cancer and amputees. Along with these diseases, the physical medicine and rehabilitation team also works on recovery following being affected by respiratory pathologies, such as Covid-19, since, as the doctor explained, “this type of patient is going to require rehabilitation following that not-so-pleasant moment.”
Dr. Anahis Vera studied her specialty at the Central University of Venezuela and has been living in Chile for three years. She has a degree in anti-aging medicine and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in clinical and administrative care management. Before coming to Ovalle, she worked as a physiatrist at the Peña Blanca Hospital in the Valparaíso Region and she did an internship with specialists from the Gustavo Fricke Hospital in the same area. The specialist comments that this experience helped her to learn more regarding the functioning of the health network.
She currently lives in Ovalle with her family, including a baby who is Chilean, however, she has two daughters in Venezuela, waiting for them to soon be able to travel to be with her.
To access a medical consultation with the doctor at the Ovalle Hospital, patients must be referred from a Cesfam or primary care device.
Dr. Vera affirmed that “the first piece of advice for the population would be to try to avoid diseases, that must be worked on from the APS, we must make the population aware of reducing risk factors, if we have any pathology such as hypertension or diabetes, we must go to controls and physical activity… sometimes we forget that we have to move our bodies to avoid or reduce possible pathologies that inactivity can bring us”.
While regarding the people who, due to some recent accident or pathology, are struggling to recover their health, the doctor commented that the objective of her management and the rest of her team is “to try to help them quickly reintegrate into their daily lives and recover their life before illness.