WILMER JOEL
More than 10 students, accompanied by instructor Karalaini Osborne from the CMI 101 class, visited the mental health Iakwe Ward last Wednesday to present gifts and songs of appreciation to the staff and patients.
The CMI course serves as an introduction to the college and teaches students how the institution operates and the services CMI provides. This community service, which was planned and organized in two weeks, is the final part of their assessment for the summer semester. The students gave posters, brochures, and toiletry items to Dr. Adri Hicking and six mental health patients who were present.
Dr. Hicking, who is currently in charge of the mental ward, which currently has seven staff, thanked the CMI 101 class for the visit. “People nowadays have stigmatized this issue of mental health as (someone going) crazy,” he said. “No, everybody has mental issues. It’s how we deal with it that’s different.”
If the number of patients keeps rising, said Hicking, the ward’s challenge will be the need for more staff and facility expansion. “Four nurses are not enough,” he said.
Marylou Marquez, one of the patients who has been undergoing treatment for six years, said that the mental health program has been helpful. “If I see someone like me, I am eager to help them.”