Medical Supplies

Isaac Schwartz here, checking in from the Medications and Supplies Committee.  It has been a remarkable experience thus far, and we've come a long way.  In fact, we're pretty close to being all set with the supplies for this incredible excursion!  Our supplies are all gathered in a basement of a generous helper, and they'll be packed into our bags next weekend.  Our medications order has been submitted to our partner in Peru.  Here's how we did it:

1) What on Earth do we need?

This is my first time participating in an international medical mission like this, and my knowledge of what is needed to supply this trip was essentially nil at the beginning.  Stage One was information gathering.  I emailed, called, met with, and otherwise hassled past student leaders, physicians, and pharmacists who had good ideas and knowledge about what this trip needs.  I pored over packing lists and receipts from last year, and along with my physician Supplies Committee leader, Dr. Rachna Rai, created a list of supplies and medications that we will take with us this year.  It was a long part of the process - Every time we reviewed the list, new questions arose.  Our amazing physicians took great care and time to help us with these issues.

2) How on Earth do we find it?

A finalized "wish list" in hand, now it was left to find our supplies.  Lots of things were easy to find from our participants.  We received IV kits, wound care items, and syringes from a home-care pharmacist who had lots of leftover equipment.  From Planned Parenthood we received a large donation of equipment needed to provide OB/GYN and women's health care.  There were still a lot of items, however, that were eluding us.  It turns out that Cleveland, OH is the best possible location to have this dilemma!  Our amazing partner, MedWish, makes this part easy.  MedWish is a Cleveland-based organization who collects usable waste from hospitals all over the region, repurposes and repackages it and sends it to partners in developing countries who use it to save and improve lives.  One email and one trip to the MedWish warehouse and for just a small packing fee we were basically finished stocking our trip's supplies!

Medications were another issue.  What medications we have determines to a large extent the care we can provide, and it was important to determine what we need and what we don't need, so that we can be efficient and effective.  Last year a bulk of our medications came from donor organizations.  I learned from looking at records from last year that we were left with a lot of unused medications and of some meds we had an insufficient supply.  This year we decided to be as directed as possible, and to look for a way to purchase the medications we will use.  Through our partner, Dr. Francisco Morales from Pisac, Peru, we were directed to a Regional Pharmacy in Peru that supplies public health clinics in the Sacred Valley region, and we were able to find almost everything we need at an incredible low price.  We will purchase just about all the medications we need for the whole month for ~ $800!

With those big questions out of the way, we still have a ways to go.  Right now we're gearing up for packing day, when we'll need to distribute our equipment amongst the travelers, and we still need to work out a system to keep track of what we use in Peru, both for real-time inventory management and for record-keeping to help next year's leaders be as efficient as possible.  It's a big job, and so far I've learned a ton from helping to coordinate this!  It's a big team job - we've needed help and input from all of the other committees who are working hard to provide good services in Peru, and from our physicians who have great knowledge of what we need and what we can do.  I'm personally grateful to Erika Lundrgin and Ilka Decker who have picked up a ton of slack as I've moved into some busy clinical rotations.  Without everyone's help, no part of this project would work!

Women's Health

The Women’s Health Committee is working to better understand the prevalence of as well as promote awareness of domestic violence in the Sacred Valley in a culturally sensitive manner.  To achieve these aims, we will universally screen women who come to our clinics for domestic violence and utilize interactive skits to educate children about domestic violence and conflict resolution.

We look forward to bringing you pictures of the Women's Health Committee in action!

Dental Committee

Hi everyone!  It's your friendly neighborhood PHOP Dental Committee (i.e. Maurine and Andrea)!

Our committee's 3 main goals are:

-Provide dental hygiene education

-Provide dental hygiene kits

-Explore the option of fluoridation.

If you are looking to help, we could use more toothbrushes and floss!  Set up a box at your school, your church, wherever there are lots of people.  If you are interested, we can provide a flyer to help create a collection box.  Last year, we took a suitcase full of toothbrushes and gave them all out, so the need is great!

We are taking a small number of fluoridation kits this year to try out at a few schools.  If it goes smoothly, this is an area we'll be hoping to expand next year.

We appreciate your support!

Reflections on a Trip Past

He probably had only four teeth left, all of which were exposed in a grin as wide as the Amazon. His sun-darkened skin was rough from the dry climate, his matted hair was streaked with age, and his eyes were alight with pure joy.

“¡Puedo ver! ¡YO PUEDO VER! ¡Gracias, gracias, gracias!” he exclaimed, dancing around the small, dimly lit room with the sprightliness of a much younger person and kissing each of us on the cheek. After 80 years of poor health care and poorer vision, he could finally see. He pulled out a pocket Bible with minuscule print and, wearing his new glasses, skimmed a passage. Again, his face broke into a four-toothed smile, tears glistening. He looked up at me.

“Gracias, mi hija,” he beamed. Thank you, my daughter.

I was ecstatic. As a tenth grader, I had just conducted his vision exam myself. In Spanish. Never before had I felt more deeply and genuinely gratified.

It was June – winter in the mountains of Lamay, Peru, a remote village far from the medical technology of its capital, Lima. Several months before, I had been given the opportunity to join a medical mission with a team of physicians and med students, to provide free health care to village residents.

My fluency in Spanish would enable me to serve as a translator, and I was given the additional responsibility of helping organize an eye clinic. I spearheaded eyeglass drives in five high schools in my area and gathered donations from similar drives across northeastern Ohio. I then met with area ophthalmologists who helped me categorize the glasses, trained me to conduct eye exams, and briefed me on how to prescribe glasses based on vision test results. To further prepare myself for the trip, I downloaded and listened to podcast upon podcast of medical Spanish to learn even the most esoteric medical terminology.

I volunteered for ten magnificent days, traveling to four areas, two health posts, and two orphanages. I spent time talking with children in the orphanages, many of whom were abandoned because of disabilities and were in desperate need of medical care. They were delighted when given glasses, fascinated that they could now see the individual curls of my hair.

Physicians who didn’t speak Spanish would summon me to translate medical histories, symptoms, dosage requirements, prognoses, and prescriptions. Thrilled to be a pivotal conduit for doctor-patient interaction, I soon became used to the questions necessary for obtaining a medical history and list of symptoms. I could even conduct these rudimentary histories myself, without a physician.

During my brief stay, our team saw over 200 patients in the eyeglass clinic alone. Day after day, I watched the faces of grandmothers and young children light up as the eye chart in front of them changed from a blurry haze into a clear image. Day after day, our team was thanked profusely for our services with ceremonies and handcrafted tokens of appreciation.

This experience has irreversibly shaped me. During my trip, I witnessed the physical and emotional effects of living in poverty. I slowly began to understand the brutalities many endure, from confronting the daily stabs of harsh arthritic pain in order to get water for their family, to facing the fact that the cure for a newly diagnosed disease is available only in urbanized and distant Lima, a disheartening and unaffordable expense.

Yet as a whole, the Peruvian people always seemed to maintain a mixture of courage, perseverance, gratitude, and dignity, all of which shone undiluted through their faces. They taught me to maintain “una buena cara al mal tiempo” – a good face in bad times. They showed me that the journey to happiness is often uphill (and may involve right angle turns along steep mountains), but in the end, it is worth the trip.

Though we are many people in a gamut of circumstances, we are one people seeking purpose in the global community. Having broadened my perspective and worldly outlook, I am certain I will return to the mountains of Peru soon. I have encouraged many students in neighboring high schools to start used-eyeglass drives in their communities, and I intend to ensure that the drive in my school continues long after my graduation.

This trip has instilled in me a motivation to pursue medicine with a global focus. I know that my body, heart, and soul are committed to the humanitarian cause. I can’t imagine a more perfect life than serving the global community through grassroots organizations while working to expand the Lamay medical trip. Like the vision charts sharpening before patients’ eyes, my future has come into focus.

By Vibhuti K., Solon, OH

This piece has been published in Teen Ink’s monthly print magazine.

Chincha

For the first time this year, PHOP is sending a group of students and physicians to Chincha, a coastal Peruvian town. We will be in Chincha during weeks 3 and 4 this year, with hopes that in future years, we will have groups in the Cusco Valley and Chincha for all 4 weeks. There are 23 total people going to Chincha, with about 15 there each week. We will be working at the Peruvian American Medical Society (PAMS) Chincha Clinic and spending a couple of days at a local high school. At the clinic, we are planning to have students working with physicians from Cleveland and with the Peruvian physicians who are already there, representing many different subspecialties.  We are preparing to run stations for eye glasses, dental hygiene, and diabetes for the patients at the clinic. In addition, we will offer CPR training sessions for local healthcare workers. We are also creating educational materials for students at the local high school regarding parasite prevention and conflict resolution.  We look forward to bringing you updates from Chincha during weeks 3 and 4!


Michelle Filanovsky
Case Western Reserve University, MD Candidate 2015

The two PHOP sites - Sacred Valley and Chincha

Fundraiser update!

The fundraiser was a success!!  With 215 attendees and over $7000 in profits, we could not be happier with how the night went.  Thanks to everyone who came and showed their support and to all the donors without who this event would not be possible!  A special thanks to the Cleveland Cleveland for donating the venue, Silvia's Peruvian Catering for providing the fabulous food,  DJ Umberto Amante for the music, and Raices del Peru Dance Ensemble for the wonderful dancing.

Racies del Peru Dance Ensamble

  

Silent Auction, Food, and Salsa Lessons!!