Photo: RMF Haiti Project Coordinator, Dr. Patrick Dupont in Haiti
February 8, 2012
by RMF Haiti Project Coordinator, Dr. Patrick Dupont
Category Archives: South America
Real Medicine Foundation 2010/2011 Annual Report Published
Click on link to visit our website where Annual Report can be viewed and downloaded as a PDF document
http://www.realmedicinefoundation.org/initiative/update/annual-report-20102011
Haiti Quake Efforts Were Hampered by Poor Information Sharing
Photos from our “Chocolatada” Christmas Party in Peru
On the 17th of December, our clinic staff in Peru, celebrated with an early Christmas party with some of the children and former patients of our clinic. Thanks to the the contribution of friends and family, the party was held with gifts, food, and a musical clown show for the children.
This year the party was held at one of the local municipality community centers, and we were able to provide a total of 110 gifts for the children. 90 of these gifts were handed out to the children at the party and the remaining 20 were given at a seperate gathering for children who are patients of ours with TB (Tuberculosis) and Malnourishment in another special meeting for them.
Thank You For An Amazing Year!
Photo: Dr. Martina C. Fuchs, RMF Founder/CEO, making new friends at the Lwala, Kenya Community Hospital, October 1, 2011
We are so grateful to all our friends, supporters and teams around the world and wish everyone a fantastic 2012!
Having wrapped up another successful we want to pause and say a huge THANK YOU to all of you who supported our work in 2011. You have helped us achieve so much, and we give our deep thanks to everyone for your generosity and support!
Voices from the field: Señora Maria by Jana Siu
by Jana Siu
I got to know Señora Maria over her prescribed 5 day course of antibiotics. Everyday she’d shuffle in around 2pm, hand over her prescription and give one large sigh before I gave her an injection into her hip. Afterwards, we’d have a little chat about the importance of getting the whole course of antibiotics. I always fear that patients won’t come back because of the pain. On the contrary, I’ve found the patients here to be very diligent on coming in day after day, whether for an injection or excruciating wound care. When I asked her about this, she told me that in spite of the pain, she was very grateful for the attentive care she was receiving from Dr. Erika and the staff. Prior to the Policlinico, her healthcare consisted of rare visits to “la posta”, the government funded clinics for the underserved and the poor. Her disheartening response to what was problematic about it said it all, “They treat me badly.”
On her last day of antibiotics, Señora Maria was disappointed to hear that my stay here was coming to an end. And in good Peruvian fashion, she asked whether or not I had tried the 20 or so Peruvian dishes that she rattled off. I thought I had done well, but she was still shocked at the few I had not tried. She rubbed her injection site and clucked her disapproval as she shuffled out the door.
Voices from the field: Preventative Health Campaign Outreach in Cleto Rojas, Peru
by Jana Siu
Vicki the pharmacist described to me the neighborhood of Cleto Rojas in San Clemente as rustic. I found “rustic” to be an understatement. This area increased dramatically in size after the earthquake. Houses are constructed of wooden poles and mats of weaved reed stalks as roofs and walls. Plastic sheeting, some that have the emblem of medical relief organizations long gone, insulate these homes. It’s a very dusty, windy, dry part of town. We chose Cleto Rojas as the location to do our preventative health campaign.
Tumbling out of our cramped motos with our supplies and anticipation, we were slightly disappointed to see all of 5 people sitting outside. But knowing that information spreads pretty quickly through paper-thin walls (literally), we soon found ourselves in a crowd of 60.
Voices From The Field: Busy Monday at the Clinic by Jana Siu
The guest contributor to our Blog today is Jana Siu, a Registered Nurse from California who has volunteered for us before in India. Jana is spending time volunteering at our clinic the “Policlínico Peruano-Americano” in San Clemente, Peru and just sent this first dispatch from the field.
Haiti Situation Report from United Nations
The orange alert has been lifted on 9 June by the Direction de la protection civile (DPC). River water levels have started to recede in affected areas of the Nippes, West, Artibonite and Centre departments.
According to final estimates by the DPC, 28 people died, 6 have been injured and 6 are still reported missing. The West department, including Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, has the highest fatality rate with 22 deaths.
UN Haiti situation report: Humanitarian Bulletin
Cholera alerts on the rise
The number of weekly hospitalizations nationwide has increased from an average 1,700 to 2,600, reports PAHO in its latest bulletin dated May 27. The South-East, Grande Anse, South and West are the departments most affected by outbreaks of cholera with a surge over the past three weeks inthe number of daily alerts received from partners in the field. In the South-East department, the number of hospitalization has tripled over the past two weeks, with some of the cases coming however from neighboring West Department. From 21-23 May, a significant increase of cases in Port-au-Prince metropolitan area has also been reported. As of 2 June, close to 2,000 cases and 13 deaths had been reported. Some donors including ECHO and USAID have indicated the availability of new funds to respond to further cholera outbreaks.