Hello all. I've now been in the Dominican Republic working with Health Horizons International in the Puerto Plata Region, for two and a half months. My daily routine generally consists of home visits, accompanying and advocationg for medical patients that HHI serves, at appointments with local specialists, and working with the Community Health Worker program. But this week was one of our 3 annual "Medical Service Team Trips" that brings Doctors and medical students from the U.S. to our part of the D.R. to do clinics and home visits in the 4 low-income communities that HHI serves. It was a whirlwind 5 days, and we enjoyed welcoming and working alongside the visiting Doc's from the U.S. We got tired, dusty, and served over 400 chronic care patients, patients with acute medical issues, and kids in need of vitamins and meds for rashes and dewoming, in 3 clinics, and some home visits in 4 communites. Here are some photos: The one above and to the right is of HHI's volunteer Physicians from the U.S. treating a local family in the clinic. The one above and to the left is of HHI's Executive Director Laura and local toddler taking a quick break on the steps outside the church we used as our field clinic on our 4th long day of clinics.
Here, several of the doctors and local Community Health Workers smile despite the sweltering heat as they walk to the special temporary clinic we set up in a local church in one of the communities that HHI serves with medical care year round.
Below, one of HHI's volunteer medical students and one of our Dominican Community Health Workers check heights, weights, and vitals for two moms and their children in the clinic before sending the families on to the doctor consult stations hidden by the curtains in the background. I enjoyed this, my first of our 3 annual medical clinics that we organize here each year. Next week I and my co-country directors and several volunteers will begin taking approximately 40 of the sickest patients we assessed during this week's clinics to Dominican medical specialists for further in-depth consults, surgeries. We'll be getting others linked with dental work and eye-glass fittings. To learn more about the work I and the staff at HHI have been doing here in the Dominican Republic, check out our most recent blog post at: http://hhiblog.org and check out HHI on Facebook to see our monthly newsletter. You can also sign up to get the newsletter sent to your email inbox. Then you'll know a lot more about what I'm doing here. : )
