The health center team at Umpiem Mai work really hard with limited resources – but always with an eye on how they can do things better. So when we asked the team what other changes we could make inside the health center itself, one problem came up right away.
“With how narrow the doors to the bathrooms are,” said Wai Htoo, the Director of the Health Center and resident of Umpiem Mai. “Patients with a wheelchair can’t get in.”
On top of that, the existing toilets hadn’t been replaced in over ten years. It was time for a change.
So the team got to work knocking down the bathroom walls, and purchased new metal doors. Then, they added a coat of paint.
Being wheelchair accessible – as well as having an updated, clean space for all patients to use – is incredibly important. It allows even the most vulnerable, sick, and weary patients some dignity, some privacy.
“I’m happy to have a change like this,” said Wai. “Because our hospital is treating not only the disease, but the mind too.”
