Dominican Republic Blog Jan 30 2019
Clinic Day 3 – Maranatha Today the team got into the groove and it was a smooth day. We left in good time and arrived at the Maranatha church – one large room. We got the flow down and started with registration with Irika and Alba. Next was the nurses triage- with Shannon, Melanie, Jeannie, Lee Anne and Kristen. Community outreach visits were made by Natasha, Melissa, Melanie and Mike. Luke was on glasses. Lori did everything ha ha. Dr Bai and Dr Christina at the MD station and Joe, Linda and Terrisita were at the pharmacy. Flouride was by Lasha, Andrea and Kelli and they saw 335 kids! Carla headed off to Cabarete with the dental hygienists. We did have some interesting cases- Kelli had a deaf child that they had to sign the instructions – but they were able to communicate. Natasha was in the community and had a burn from some cream that she had put on her legs. We dressed her wounds and gave her supplies and tensors. Melissa had an 8-month-old baby with a serious ear infection that was draining and referred on to Dr Bai- he said he had never seen a child this young with such a serious infection- treated with antibiotics. The team got home in good time and had a Mexican buffet. In the evening we were well represented at Karaoke! 146 and 250 Dominican Republic Blog Jan 29
Clinic Day 2- Callejon de la Loma Day 2 the team was up early and was a bit different as we split up into three groups. Optical went to one town, Dentistry another and the nurses, MD, pharmacy and fluoride in another. We set up in an open-air pavilion at a school and the MD and Pharmacy were in a classroom. The flow was better – less chaotic – We did have more patients with higher needs. There were several motorcycle injuries, some open wounds, many scabies and the usual colds and coughs. Our nurses went into the village to do some home visits and were welcomed warmly. The homes were basic but very clean. The children at fluoride were very polite and well behaved…. As each day progresses we are moving into poorer areas….which our hardy staff have been ready for since arrival. We have an excellent team that jumps into do anything – and makes me very proud. From nurses to the team support- everyone has been great. Joe Odumodu has been a saint as he adapts to difficult conditions, constantly hunting for the right bag and boxes for meds, heat, mosquitos and uneven ground. Our thanks to Joe and Pharmasave for the time and meds for the team. We saw 308 kids for fluoride, 147 for medical and 27 for dental. Dominican Republic Blog Jan 28
Clinic Day 1 – Ver Agua The first clinic day is always a bit off as we try to figure out the team, the flow and work the kinks out. We were all up and ready early- and piled into the two buses for the drive to Ver Agua- and set up in the high school. When we arrived, HAART staff had the rooms set up for us – we just needed to get our selves organized. In the am we looked after the kids in the school….which was pretty light as most were healthy. It did give us a chance to get organized and ready for more patients. The afternoon picked up a bit with people who needed more help and the team got the system flow down. At 4 pm we loaded on the bus and headed for the hotel- then a swim, dinner and team meeting. After dinner we talk about the day- what went well- what was not so good- things to do better tomorrow. Each “department” updates the group and we make plans for tomorrow. We saw 257 patients – a good first day. Dominican Republic Blog Jan 27 – travel day
Well- the day has finally arrived. After a tough drive through snow and no plows on the roads, the group all met at Pearson at 6 am. We “pony expressed” the 40 or so hockey bags to the airport to join the group from Wasaga Beach. Ray from facilities at CarePartners got up at 3 and delivered a lot of bags to the airport which was a huge help. The hockey bags of supplies are heavy and hard to move- each weighing 50 lb each but the team worked together and we got them all through. We flew WestJet and they were amazing- they did not charge us for the hockey bags and even cut us some slack on the bag weight- if we were off by a pound or so – they waved us through- which is not always the case. We have had to pay $150 for that extra couple pounds in the past. The plane left a bit late due to weather and de-icing and we arrived around 3 pm (there is a one-hour time change) - the warm 26 degree weather was such a nice change from Canada. The HAART team was there to greet us along with Lori and Luke Hollinger who are came from Costa Rico to meet us and Lori is going to be a leader for the trip. We came thru customs with no issue. We loaded the bags onto a bus and the team onto open air little trucks with benches and we made the 20 minute trip and checked into our hotel – Souza by the Sea - a clean, safe, basic hotel but with wonderful staff – it overlooks the ocean and has a pool- which will be wonderful after our clinic days in the hot sun. We had a great dinner and team meetings to get organized for tomorrow. The first day is always chaos. We are thrilled to have Joe Odumodu join us again – donating his time as the team pharmacist. Joe and Pharmasave have been supporters of our medical team for many years now…..donating time and supplies….and we could not have our international medical clinics without them. Well...only a few more days until the group leaves on a jet plan to the Dominican for the 2019 outreach trip. We will be posting blogs throughout the trip to keep family and friends up to date with the events that are happening so please share the website.
We have also created a Facebook page for you to follow as well. Follow this link to the page and be sure to like it so the updates show up on your news feeds and please share! Enjoy! https://www.facebook.com/CNS-Community-Nursing-Services-364115270809903/?modal=admin_todo_tour Jan 10, 2019
The team is packing and gearing up for our next out reach trip to the Dominican Republic. The group leaves on Jan 27th and will be providing care throughout the following week. Check back for daily updates starting Jan 28th and to see what the team has been up to. |