A good fit

Darren writes:
A very special to thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make the PazSalud medical mission in San Pedro Perulapan so successful.  The countless hours by the the US and Salvadoran volunteers paid off as we were able to see a record 1,647 patients in 4.5 days and deliver much needed care to an under-served population.  Congratulations to all and thank you to all the wonderful people we met along the way.

Susan adds:
This huge open space was a "best ever" location for our mission.  We've been in everything from a municipal child-care center (tiny!) in San Rafael Cedros to a spacious school in San José Villanueva, but our friends at ACOSAMA kindly allowed us to use their big auditorium where we could set up everything - four separate clinics, the optic shop, the pharmacy, space for breaks and lunches, and plentiful space for waiting patients - under one big roof.  How we wish we could bundle up the auditorium and take it with us!  But then we wouldn't have the fun of watching Kathy and Darren map out alternative ways to fit our big mission team into a new and challenging space.  

Congratulations and thanks!

Here's our great clinic space in San Pedro Perulapan.  This huge auditorium space easily and comfortably held all our clinics and most of the waiting patients with plenty of room to spare.  We wish we could pack up the auditorium for next year, but ACOSAMA - the non-profit organization that kindly welcomed us into their space for the week - probably has some other uses for it.

Darren writes:
A very special to thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make the PazSalud medical mission in San Pedro Perulapan so successful.  The countless hours by the the US and Salvadoran volunteers paid off as we were able to see a record 1,647 patients in 4.5 days and deliver much needed care to an under-served population.  Congratulations to all and thank you to all the wonderful people we met along the way.

Mission Accomplished!

We can say, with some pride and a great deal of satisfaction, that we completed our General Medical Mission to San Pedro Perulapan on Valentine's Day, February 14th, after seeing 1,647 people, many of them in two or more clinics.  The week was full of memorable moments - Kathy Garcia enjoyed more than her usual quota of babies to cuddle:

Rosa Aguiar, our team member from Comasagua, El Salvador, signed up a record number of patients for cataract surgery - 81 (we wouldn't be able to handle that many cases, but the list typically shrinks between sign-up time and show-up time):

Ray Moore, Supply Chain Contracts Manager in his PeaceHealth life, took breaks from looking for optical prescriptions to delight children with a magic book that opened onto either blank pages or drawings, depending on....well, that part's the magic.  Ray's kneeling at the center of the photo. Sr. Andrea Nenzel, left, and optician Jackie Kersten, right, are enjoying the show:

Cecilia Jacobson, also part of our Optical Shop team, enjoyed the new look of one of her young clients:

 Dr. Adriana Linares, who mentors new resident physicians, found a possible future student in this little guy with his firm grip on her stethoscope:

The joyful moments continued during our weekend of sightseeing, shopping and relaxation.  The funniest came at the airport, at about 6 AM, when Sr. Amalia Camacho, aided by Dr. Charlotte Ransom, left, finally fulfilled her wish to eat Pollo Campero - for breakfast:

There are thousands more special moments to be shared with family and friends and colleagues in the coming weeks and months, moments from a memorable week. 

Getting ready for the mission

With only two weeks to go before the general mission, the entire team is in high gear prepping every last detail needed to create a successful medical brigade.  

In San Pedro Perulapán we will be working inside a large spacious auditorium - here it is -

and on a recent trip to El Salvador, Kathy and I put together a rough schematic of how the operation will be set up.  What started off as some cut out post-it notes on graph paper eventually transitions to tape, marker and post-it notes on poster board.  

With a pretty solid blueprint in hand we held a meeting with our local volunteers as our coordinators Iris and Yessenia walked the team through the overall patient flow, volunteer stations and responsibilities.

San Vicente

Darren writes:

As part of preparing for our groups to deliver health care in El Salvador I frequently visit various doctors and government officials outside of San Salvador.  Recently, I went to San Vicente to speak with the regional director for the Ministry of Health in El Salvador and took the opportunity to take some pictures of the centrally located, beautiful old colonial town.  I hope my work brings me back here soon.

¡Fiesta!

Darren writes:

Recently the Center for Interchange and Solidarity (CIS - Centro de Intercambio y Solidaridad) invited me to their Christmas party and gift exchange where we shared great food, fun conversation and holiday cheer.  CIS has been a trusted and valued partner to PazSalud for many years and they continue to provide us with the indispensable local volunteer networks we rely on to bring medical missions to El Salvador.  In addition to working with us, the CIS is a multi-faceted organization, with many programs supporting education, organizing, and social justice.

Thanks to some of our favorite guys

Darren writes:

On a recent trip to the Pacific Northwest I took the opportunity to pick up a few gifts for some great guys PazSalud works with in El Salvador.  And just in time for the Ducks Alamo Bowl win too!

Marvin Hernandez

Marvin was our coordinator for all three missions in Estanzuelas and Jose Manual helps navigate us through the byzantine process of obtaining government permission to hold a mission in El Salvador.  Two of the many valuable people PazSalud is proud to work with to bring health care to Salvadorans in need.

 José Manuel González