A Mission with Heart PazSalud in Tamanique, El Salvador February 14-23, 2015

A Mission with Heart

PazSalud in Tamanique, El Salvador

February 14-23, 2015

2© 2011 PeaceHealth

We went to the small town of Tamanique, set in the coastal hills of central El Salvador


We held our clinics in this spacious building

The motto for this vocational education center was perfect for our mission: “With God in our hearts and minds, we serve the people”


On Sunday Hernan crammed us all into his Coaster and we set up clinics with our great group of local volunteers


Kathy and Darren’s months of preparation were about to pay off.


In our beautiful new T-shirts, we were ready to serve!


And on Monday our patients were waiting for us.


The pharmacy was stocked and ready


And our farmacistas offered “service with a smile”


Piles of eyeglasses awaited customers


Docs and interpreters were ready


And we were off and running


In General Medicine

© 2013 PeaceHealth 14

Interpreters and providers worked together to make sure communication flowed.


And providers who speak Spanish learned some new idioms from Salvadoran patients.


In Pediatrics we saw the most beautiful and most vulnerable patients


Including a few with conditions that would have been treated long ago in the U.S.


The women’s clinic, a private space created by tarps, was popular once word got out that the doctor was also a woman!


When a patient needed a referral to a specialist or hospital, our local partner, Dr. Fredy, managed the process and will follow up.


The eye clinic always draws a big crowd

Our optometrists kept a rapid pace, helped by the new autorefractor purchased with donations in memory of Sister Eleanor Gilmore.


With an experienced team member running specialized equipment, we were able to pre-test 87 people with cataracts or pterygiums for our May Eye Surgery Mission .

Then our friend Rosa, a Salvadoran volunteer who joins us every year, explained the surgery process to each potential patient.


Our Optic Shop volunteers searched for the closest fit for each prescription.


And found a few glasses that were past being recycled.


Three Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace and two Associates joined the mission and offered an Ash Wednesday service for the team.


Sisters Susan and Amalia were floaters, pitching in where needed


Our two physical therapists, though working as photojournalist and interpreter, got to use their skills.


Sometimes we offered consolation and counseling


And sometimes we made it fun!


We ate well


And enjoyed the beauty of our evenings at the retreat house.


We loved meeting the people of Tamanique


hopeful, curious, proud, young and old


They honored us with their trust and we honored them with the best care we could give.


In our 4 ½ days in Tamanique, we saw 1425 patients in a total of 2071 clinic visits


And then we rested...

Documents

A Mission with Heart PazSalud in Tamanique, El Salvador February 14-23, 2015