Update from Roatania

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So I purchased a TIGO Internet stick for more money than I probably should have so now I have internet in my house so for those of you that don't have facebook (aka my whole family) and haven't kept up to date with my travels I'll try to provide a brief update with some photos.

First a word about Roatan: The nightly power outages have stopped which is nice. Tomorrow is the shrimp festival. I don't really know what it is but apparently its a big deal so I should be excited. My house has been sprayed to get ride of the daily cockroach visitors (but don't be fooled my apartment is super nice and even has cable which is nice because I constantly watch House or Ley y Orden Unidad Victimas Especiales (UVE) i.e. SVU. Today I played charity bingo run by Siempre Unidades, the local organization that does HIV testing and supports individuals living with HIV. I won the grand premio aka the last round which was a microondas (microwave) and a 100 gift certificate to the clothing store which Miss Peggy said I should give to Dr. Raymond which is a good idea. My Spanish is improving daily and I can now fully converse with Hairo my cab driver and several patients and apparently the chief of HIV at the Roatan Hospital with whom I had a meeting. I have been on three dives now and try to dive in any spare time that I have.

Clinica Esperanza is a primary care health center. Most people on the island, English and Spanish speakers obtain their care at the clinic as the care is well above that of the hospital (see photo). The primary concerns are usually hypertension and diabetes for the adults and tos y gripe y calentura for the kids (cough, cold, fever). We see about 50 patients a day between the two full time doctors and the various volunteer health professionals.

Here's what I have been doing at La Clinica Esperanza.
Triage/Pharmacy: I take blood pressure, temperature, etc. and ask patients their chief complains.
Shadowing: I have been able to work with Dr. Raymond, the native Honduran trained doctor and Dra. Georgia from Britain who just left to hone my skills of physical exam and patient interview.
Vision screenings: This has been the majority of what I have been doing. Along with another first (now second) year student, and two other MPH students we go to the local schools on the island, screen vision using the Snellen eye chart and either refer those who need glasses to the special clinic coming in August, or now (thanks to the two California Rotary dudes who were here) actually give out glasses on the spot. I like helping kids to see.
HIV testing: This is the main project that I am working on. I met with the director of HIV testing from Roatan hospital and Siempre Unidades, the major HIV NGO on the island to continue the process of conducting HIV testing in various populations throughout the island. I was able to secure a donation of 250 test kits for the clinic before I left which we will use for this endeavor. Our first testing venture will be Tuesday afternoon which I am super excited about. More to come.

We also took a trip last weekend to Cayos Cochinos, a small island chain close to the mainalnd that has no health facility (see photo). The doctors ran a health clinic and I assisted in handing out deworming tablets and performing HIV testing.

All in all a great start!

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Comments

[Noah]

WOW!
Not only do you get to snorkel and dive but also seems like you are getting some awesome experiences. I wish Emily and I could visit while you were there - maybe next time