Blog of Shoulder to Shoulder

This was a diverse brigade comprised of residents, attendings, an opthamologist, and nursing and medical students.  There were also ten translators from La Ceiba who were excellent at their job and added lots of fun and energy to the group.  Despite non-stop rain beginning the first workday, this brigade stayed optimistic and was able to accomplish many things.  They provided field clinics at six locations in Magdalena, Santa Lucia, and San Antonio as well as took turn at the Santa Lucia clinic, ran a health fair, gave hypertension clubs, performed several cleaning operations, and went on home visits.  A brave few went for a hike on Saturday and everyone participated in painting the dining and living space in the clinic.  While they had to leave a day early to avoid worsening road conditions, everyone at Shoulder to Shoulder truly appreciated their energy and enthusiasm through out their stay.

Brigadeers working their magic at a field clinic

The group outside the Santa Lucia clinic

These are a few quotes from brigade members:

“Great team building, and a world-view changing experience”

“Everyone was warm and easy to approach”

“Everyone did a great job of helping to accommodate for changes in schedule.”

The MAHEC/Lancaster Brigade came to Shoulder to Shoulder as a collaborative effort from programs in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Ashville, North Carolina. Full of diversity, the brigade was comprised of physicians, residents, medical students, pharmacists, one financial consultant and one nutritionist, as well as three younger students. The group set up camp in the church residence in Camasca center, where they received exceptional hospitality from the local people. This is the second brigade that has spent time in Camasca, further building the ever-developing relationship between Shoulder to Shoulder and one of Intibucá’s finest towns. Each day the group traveled to a different “aldea” – or regional village – in order to provide a bevy of medical services. They also did numerous home visits and educational talks. In addition, the group spent time within the Camasca community, working at the CESEMO as well as in the local high school. The extremely positive experience was capped off with a US vs. Honduras basketball game at the community court, arranged by our friends in the Peace Corps. All in all, the second brigade to Camasca went extremely well, and the relationship between Shoulder to Shoulder and Camasca continues to blossom.

Working within the community

Lounging about with the pastor

The Dental Brigade came to us from the beautiful state of Ohio. They were a fun and energetic group compiled of six Ohio State University dental students, Dr. Burns and Mrs. Burns and Dr. Larry Tepe and Dr. Jan Tepe. During the short time they were here they worked eight long days, swam in the waterfall and went on some hikes in the countryside. Over the eight days the dental brigade with help from the local staff performed over 800 treatments helping the local populations greatly. They also applied fluoride and examined over 400 elementary school students in the area. In addition, they helped to promote healthy dental hygiene to families. We thank them for their hard work and the service they gave to the local community.

The dental brigade missing Dr. Larry Tepe

During the time we celebrated two birthdays!

Representing Ohio State on a Sunday morning hike

Some reflections from brigade members:

“Enjoyed morning walks-very invigorating. Food preparation was great @ Santa Lucia. Local dental staff helpful and supportive.”

“I really enjoyed the hiking. Other than that, we sort of came up with our own activities. The Honduran doctors at Concepción were super gracious to teach us.”

“Pretty much as expected. We could do what we do anywhere, but the Shoulder to Shoulder clinic provided a great facility to work. No frills but certainly adequate and functional.”

The Brown University Brigade came to us from different areas mostly concentrated in the Northeast region of the United States. They were a diverse and energetic group that came together to partner with the Guachipilincito community. During the short time they were here for they accomplished many goals. One of them was establishing a relationship with the community to create a healthy relationship with the newly constructed health center. This included meeting with the local health committee and visiting people’s homes. Another goal was to see patients in surrounding communities and within the health center. Over the week they managed to see over 300 patients. Lastly, the brigade helped celebrate the clinic’s inauguration at the end of the week. All of this was accomplished while having fun and coming together as a team. The Brown brigade helped to continue a long-term relationship with the Guachipilincito community that will last for many years.

After many hours of organizing the pharmacy the brigade was ready to see patients.The brigade brought many of medications and also had a pharmacist to work with the doctors.

The brigade started to implement a health database for the community. Here members of the brigade are working overtime to find ID numbers of patients.

A picture of the whole brigade during a birthday celebration of one of the local employees. As you can see it was a great group.

Reflections from brigade members:

“Thanks all for a very successful Brigade and a momentous launch of the Guachi clinic.  As we discussed, it was the great team effort that made it all possible.”

“I am very proud to have been a part of what was accomplished during the brief period in Guachi.”

“The list of ‘what got done’ spans from seeing patients, screening, setting up the charting and data system, setting up the pharmacy, orienting the new nurse, providing screening to an outlying community, and opening the clinic for business.  Sorry to have missed the grand opening celebration — hope it went well.  As for bringing sons along, would put that in the ‘priceless’ category.”