Martes en Santa Maria de Real, Olancho...
Buenos Tardes! Last evening, Dr. Francisco, the Dental Resident, and Dr. Nester took me to dinner at one of their favorite restaurants. The specialties of the house are fresh, iced juices and a warm, gooey, concoction of red beans and a local, soft cheese, similar to mozzarella. The beans are slow cooked with garlic, pepper, basil, and onion, until they are soft and creamy. The lemon ice that I ordered was cold and tart and delicious! The jig is up. I'm not on a medical mission, I'm on holiday! ;) Yesterday and today, my time was spent touring the clinic, Asocion de Buen Pastor (APB), taking inventory of their equipment, meeting the staff, and specifically assessing their training needs for the future. I also scanned a few patients, and had a few brief training sessions with the Physicians. This afternoon, the Dr's and I had a long Skype conference with MTI, to discuss my assessment thus far. Tomorrow, I will primarily work with patients, Thursday and Friday will be spent on lecture and hands on training. APB has an interesting history. They used to be very busy and they are in possession of some very impressive diagnostic equipment. In the 30 years of business, ABP has had a strong medical team, and had a very good reputation within the local community and Olancho, as a whole. In the past ~15 years, some significant events have had a negative impact on their success. In 1998, Hurricane Mitch annihilated most of Honduras. This left up to 1.5 million people homeless- about 20% of the total population - and was the highest number of victims from any natural disaster in Honduran history. This was an incredible hit to the overall economy of Honduras...not counting the drug trafficking. Catcamas and Juticalpa were homes to feuding drug cartels, and their associated gangs. Up until a few years ago, there was no police, and the towns were run "like the Wild West", per Fransisco. Patients stopped coming to the clinic, physicians moved away, and business greatly diminished because it was too dangerous to come. 3 or 4 years ago, military police became present in Catacamas, and neighboring towns, and slowly the drug and gang activity decreased. There is still a very strong drug cartel and gang presence in the larger cities, but it is not nearly as common place where APB is located. So, the clinic is now in a position of trying to recover their patient load, while competing with local, private medical facilities, as well as the government funded free medical facility. So, MTI and I are trying to determine the best way to help APB get back in the game. This afternoon, Fransisco took me downtown for some wandering and shopping, however an afternoon rain cut are plans short. Tonight I will go out with him and his family for dinner. The people I have met here are so generous and welcoming. They do not like the idea of me being alone, although it doesn't bother me, so they are eager to invite me to dinner. I've also met a surgical team staying at the hotel, from an organization based in Lebanon, TN, who have been so charming. I am always welcome at their table for breakfast and they have extended multiple invites for dinner this week. Once again, I feel so incredibly blessed and grateful for this opportunity to come to this beautiful country and meet such wonderful people. ❤️
Buenos Tardes! Last evening, Dr. Francisco, the Dental Resident, and Dr. Nester took me to dinner at one of their favorite restaurants. The specialties of the house are fresh, iced juices and a warm, gooey, concoction of red beans and a local, soft cheese, similar to mozzarella. The beans are slow cooked with garlic, pepper, basil, and onion, until they are soft and creamy. The lemon ice that I ordered was cold and tart and delicious! The jig is up. I'm not on a medical mission, I'm on holiday! ;) Yesterday and today, my time was spent touring the clinic, Asocion de Buen Pastor (APB), taking inventory of their equipment, meeting the staff, and specifically assessing their training needs for the future. I also scanned a few patients, and had a few brief training sessions with the Physicians. This afternoon, the Dr's and I had a long Skype conference with MTI, to discuss my assessment thus far. Tomorrow, I will primarily work with patients, Thursday and Friday will be spent on lecture and hands on training. APB has an interesting history. They used to be very busy and they are in possession of some very impressive diagnostic equipment. In the 30 years of business, ABP has had a strong medical team, and had a very good reputation within the local community and Olancho, as a whole. In the past ~15 years, some significant events have had a negative impact on their success. In 1998, Hurricane Mitch annihilated most of Honduras. This left up to 1.5 million people homeless- about 20% of the total population - and was the highest number of victims from any natural disaster in Honduran history. This was an incredible hit to the overall economy of Honduras...not counting the drug trafficking. Catcamas and Juticalpa were homes to feuding drug cartels, and their associated gangs. Up until a few years ago, there was no police, and the towns were run "like the Wild West", per Fransisco. Patients stopped coming to the clinic, physicians moved away, and business greatly diminished because it was too dangerous to come. 3 or 4 years ago, military police became present in Catacamas, and neighboring towns, and slowly the drug and gang activity decreased. There is still a very strong drug cartel and gang presence in the larger cities, but it is not nearly as common place where APB is located. So, the clinic is now in a position of trying to recover their patient load, while competing with local, private medical facilities, as well as the government funded free medical facility. So, MTI and I are trying to determine the best way to help APB get back in the game. This afternoon, Fransisco took me downtown for some wandering and shopping, however an afternoon rain cut are plans short. Tonight I will go out with him and his family for dinner. The people I have met here are so generous and welcoming. They do not like the idea of me being alone, although it doesn't bother me, so they are eager to invite me to dinner. I've also met a surgical team staying at the hotel, from an organization based in Lebanon, TN, who have been so charming. I am always welcome at their table for breakfast and they have extended multiple invites for dinner this week. Once again, I feel so incredibly blessed and grateful for this opportunity to come to this beautiful country and meet such wonderful people. ❤️
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