January 2019
In January ACTS fielded a combined medical/dental trip. The medical component of this trip was led by Drs. Peter Mason and John Sanders and included US medical students Christine Averill and Michelle Scheurich and Honduran doctors Oscar Benitez and Julio Zuniga. As usual the team saw patients with acute problems and consulted on chronic medical problems in the clinic. In addition they made house calls with nurse Nolvia in El Rosario, La Concepcion, El Rincon and Los Planes. They inventoried the surgical and soft supplies and determined significant replacement needs. They also inventoried the pharmaceutical supplies and consulted with Nolvia about frequency of use and expiration dates of each item. Some discussion took place about the value and practicality of point of care testing in the clinic.
The team subsequently met with the Clinic Committee. They expressed their pleasure at how clean and organized the clinic appeared and the fine job that Nolvia was doing. Discussion then ensued about the best way to maintain the pharmacy supplies and the most effective way for Nolvia to communicate needs with ACTS.
The dental component of the trip was led by Dr. Bob Keene who has been instrumental in bringing the dental clinic into reality. It included clinical work to teach Dra. Reina Lara, the Honduran dentist who had requested help with learning how to use a rubber dam. Also a water sterilization system and general evaluation of the suction, air compressor and sterilizers was needed. Ultimately the suction and air compressor unit was replaced and the water filtration and overall water distribution system was found in need of work. This was accomplished through the help of the local team of Nelson and our dental equipment person Pedro Arzu. Rebecca provided preventive care using Silver Diamine Flouide therapeutic fillings for children. Dra. Lara treated the bulk of the 70 patients seen in 3 days of clinic operation. Karin Chamberlain proved extremely resourceful in her interpretation of the language. Once the plumbing gets improved the clinic will be truly operational and provide safe and important dental care during the monthly 4 day visits by Dra. Lara to El Rosario surrounding village schools and in the dental clinic.
