Alfreth Salouw, A Nurse Serving in the Outermost Region
Alfreth has rendered maximum service to patients because this was what he aspired to do when he chose to become a nurse. This versatile nurse on the outermost and remote island only wants to serve.
By
FRANSISKUS PATI HERIN
·6 minutes read
FRANSISKUS PATI HERIN
Alfreth Salouw, perawat dari Pulau Kisar, Kabupaten Maluku Barat Daya, Maluku, pada Jumat (21/4/2023).
Alfreth Salouw, 37, got a lift on the motorcycle of his peer as he left the community health center (puskesmas) of Wonreli. On his lap was a box of vaccines wrapped in his jacket to ward off the hot weather reaching 30 degrees Celsius. In this manner, he was trying to maintain the vaccines’ temperature at the standard level of 2-8 degrees Celsius.
On that Friday noon (21/4/2023), they were riding to a settlement in Wonreli village, Kisar Island, Southwest Maluku regency, Maluku. Their motorcycle halted at the house of Richard, a four-month-old baby who had not yet been immunized. Alfreth got in and gave a vaccine shot.
Thereafter, they searched for the address of Alvin, a nine-month-old. Like Richard, Alvin was also inoculated. “Don’t forget, next month please join immunization at the puskesmas,” said Alfreth in his message to the parents of both infants.
Richard and Alvin were only two of so many children under five who were not taken by their parents to Puskesmas Wonreli for immunization. In his response, Alfreth took the initiative to find their addresses and give inoculations. He has done this for the sake of infant immunity.
In performing his job as a nurse in the region, he has often found children infected with various diseases such as measles. After being traced, it was discovered that in their infancy, the children had not received complete immunization. Some had even not been inoculated at all.
As the coordinator of immunization at Puskesmas Wonreli, Alfreth has fixed an inoculation schedule. From the 3rd to the 20th of the current month, he and his team give inoculations at each integrated health service post (posyandu) in 24 locations. Later, on the 21st, immunization is provided at the puskesmas.
“We have for years applied this schedule, but many have always been absent for various reasons. Indeed, the lack of parents’ awareness still challenges us to keep reminding them,” said the nurse who has executed his duty in the border region since 2007.
I have pity on those .who are unable to walk to the puskesmas. Just let me visit them
Every month, he makes sure all infants in the service area of Puskesmas Wonreli are already properly immunized. Due to this, the puskesmas located in the region bordering Timor-Leste is frequently praised by the local health office. There are nine villages in the area. In March 2023, 180 children under five had received different inoculations.
Besides the immunization sweep, Alfreth also conducts door-to-door service for diabetics. Coincidentally, he is the only nurse having this specialization. Again, this service has come from Alfreth’s initiative.
“I have pity on those who are unable to walk to the puskesmas. Just let me visit them,” he said. The service is free of charge.
For Alfreth, it is the right to be reserved by patients. Furthermore, all the people in Southwest Maluku have been registered as participants of the National Health Insurance (JKN). Health officers are obligated to serve them.
FRANSISKUS PATI HERIN
Alfreth Salouw.
The Healthcare and Social Security Agency (BPJS) of the Ambon branch records that until March 2023, JKN participants from Southwest Maluku regency totaled 89,172 people or 100 percent of its population. It means the regency has achieved universal health coverage (UHC).
On 14 March 2023, the central government granted UHC Award 2023 to Southwest Maluku regency along with 22 provinces and 334 other regencies/cities in Indonesia. The UHC status is determined when JKN participation in a region exceeds 95 percent of its population.
At present, he trains several other nurses in handling diabetics’ injuries. In this way, when some day he is absent or moves from the region, he will have had successors. In fact, it demands patience, sacrifice and of course delighted feelings when carrying out the task.
Life at stake
Being a nurse for about 16 years, Alfreth has not only been assigned to Kisar. He was once working on an island near the territory of Timor-Leste, Lirang Island. Amid limitations, he had to be capable of doing many things, including aiding in childbirths.
His most memorable experience was when a pregnant woman came to Puskesmas Lirang to give birth but there were no midwives. Along with the patient’s family members, he assisted in the process of delivery and took several post-delivery measures. The mother was healthy and her baby also safely born.
“Those on duty had very limited availability, so nurses should also be able to serve as midwives. Everything should thus be learned. Moreover, delivery is putting one’s life at stake,” he said.
Until 2019, patients from outermost islands, especially expectant mothers needing emergency aid, had to be taken to Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste. To reach Dili, it takes around 4 hours by motorboat.
Occasionally they went to Atauro Island, owned by Timor-Leste, where they were met by a hospital plane from Dili. Their transportation and healthcare were provided gratis. If they went to Ambon, the capital of Maluku, or Kupang, the capital of East Nusa Tenggara, they had to sail for days. There were no daily boat trips either.
The service offered by Alfreth receives appreciation from communities on the border islands. Rudy Stevy Ruff, head of Kottalama village on Kisar Island, said Alfreth was displaying the real face of a public servant. When asked for help, he always tries to visit the patient’s house although beyond working hours.
This makes us feel very pleased with him. We feel comfortable.
“Here he is known as a humble and helpful nurse. When he serves patients, he always motivates them to be expecting recovery. This makes us feel very pleased with him. We feel comfortable,” said Rudy.
Lasarus Mabala, 37, a Lirang resident, also bore witness to the same thing. While on duty in Lirang, Alfreth has very rarely left his place of work. This is different from medical personnel who do not feel at home for the reason that Lirang is an outermost and isolated region. “Even some nurses or doctors already assigned to Lirang have never appeared,” he said.
Alfreth has rendered maximum service to patients because this was what he aspired to do when he chose to become a nurse. There is no other reason; this versatile nurse on the outermost and remote island only wants to serve.
