Visit to San Rafael Hospital

It's never too early to start planning the 2015 missions so our local coordinator, Maira Romero, long-time PazSalud friend and nurse, Rosy Melara, and I went to visit San Rafael Hospital in Santa Tecla in August to talk to with them about the eye surgery mission we would like them to host in May.

We met with the new hospital director, Dr. Yeerles Luis Angel Ramírez, to introduce ourselves and PazSalud and talk about how we could work together in 2015 to provide cataract and pterygium surgeries to the patients of Tamanique (the location of our 2015 General Mission in February).

Then on Kathy Garcia’s recent trip to El Salvador took the opportunity to tour the facilities in greater detail and begin mapping out our patient flow and personnel location.  Rosy, a long-time San Rafael Hospital employee, joined us to introduce us to her former coworkers.  This will be PazSalud’s fifth time working in San Rafael Hospital so at this point it feels like a second home.

Maira, Dr. Yeerles, Rosy

Operating room in San Rafael

Rosy and Kathy touring the operating area

Children's Day

PazSalud held a medical mission in San José Villanueva in 2012 and we returned on Saturday to celebrate Children’s Day with some of the less fortunate children in town.  Long-time PazSalud friend, Rosy Melara, and her church group put together a mini fiesta for a group of kids and their parents complete with toys, games, pizza and a clown and invited us to participate.

PazSalud is committed to working with our mission sites long after our teams have returned to the U.S. and this was a fun way to continue that commitment.  It was truly a memorable afternoon.

Rosy Melara (left) and Sandra (pink shirt)