La Paz de Susan

Link here to La Paz de Susan, Sister Susan Dewitt's blog about working with PazSalud and living in El Salvador from 2009 through 2013.

Friday, October 2, 2015

Optometry mission with the Lions

PazSalud just completed it's third and final mission of 2015.  Partnering with various U.S. Lions Clubs, we brought an optometry mission to Tamanique with the goal of helping the patients we weren't able to see during our February mission.  The Lions brought prescription, reading and sun glasses for the community and over the course of 4.5 days, we were able to provide thorough eye exams and glasses to 471 patients, far surpassing our projected patient totals. 

In addition, working with local physicians, we were able to provide 35 needy patients with referrals into the Salvadoran national health care system so they can seek treatment for special medical conditions our mission wasn't equipped to address.  Referrals may seem routine to those of us used to modern western health care but in El Salvador, it's a significant, often difficult to obtain step forward in treating a medical issue and one were proud and happy to provide.

Setting up glasses the day before the mission starts

A young patient with her mother


A volunteer interpreter working with a patient
A Lions volunteer discussing a patient referral with a Salvadoran doctor



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