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

Water Filters to Tamanique

PazSalud is committed to improving the short-term and long-term health of every community we serve.  During our General Medical Missions in February our physicians 'prescribe' water filters to families suffering the effects of consuming El Salvador's polluted water.  With this list of patients, PazSalud works with CIS' community water filter program to raise awareness of the vital link between clean water and public health and to train families on how to use the Sawyer water filter. 

PazSalud donates 100 water filters to every community that hosts our medical missions and we help them get into the hands of people who need them the most.

The first patient meeting

Luis and Maira from CIS training patient on how to use the PazSalud-donated water filters

Learning to assemble and care for the filter

Children of San Jose Villanueva

Once again working with close friend and constant partner of PazSalud, Rosy Melara, we collaborated with her church group to bring a morning of fun, food and presents to a group of poor children in San Jose Villanueva.  The location of our general mission in 2012, PazSalud regularly returns to celebrate special moments with them and of course, to work with Sandra and her grandmother.

Rosy talking to the group.

Children of San Jose Villanueva

Sandra and her grandmother

Patient Post-Op Exams

We just completed all our post-operative exams and I'm happy to report that our eye surgery patients are doing remarkably well.  Thanks to the work of PazSalud's amazing surgical team in May and Dr. Jule's (our Salvadoran in-country ophthalmologist) incredible efforts during the mission and throughout their post-op care, PazSalud not only performed surgery on a record number of patients but their outcomes have been as successful as we've ever had.  As always, we will continue to monitor their healing over the coming months and address any needs that may arise.

Thank you again to everyone who contributed to the success of this mission!

Patients in the waiting room of Dr. Jule's office

Dr. Jule examining a patient

Some happy patients:

Special order glasses

During every PazSalud General Mission, our team of optometrists identifies patients who have specialized, often complicated glasses prescriptions that we can not fill from our supply of glasses  donated from the U.S.  In these cases, our volunteers will take their prescriptions and have lenses specially made for them in the U.S.

A very special thanks to Walman Optical who so generously made and donated the glasses and Michelle Toney from PeaceHealth Optical whose efforts made it all possible for me to recently deliver customized, special ordered glasses to enable them to see the world like they never have before.  The smiles on their faces tell you all you need to know about how happy they are.

Chelsea

Dolores

 

Jonathan

Patricia

Patient Pre-surgey Meeting

We just completed out second and final meeting on Saturday to prepare our cataract and pterygium  patients from Tamanique for the upcoming PazSalud Eye Surgery Mission on May 11.  The pre-surgery meetings are designed to go over the logistics of the event, address their concerns and provide them with an opportunity to ask us anything they want.  We're anticipating that we'll have 67 patients this year among which we'll have 48 cataract and 23 pterygium surgeries (some patients have more than one surgery).

A huge 'thank you' goes out to Maira, Rosa and Rosy for all the help they gave me in coordinating and conducting these meetings.

Rosy, Rosa and Maira fielding questions from the group

Rosa registering a patient

Maira conferring with a patient

Donation to local NGO

Thanks to a generous donation from some of our providers, I had the pleasure of passing on this much-needed equipment to a local NGO that provides subsidized and free eye care to poor patients in Santa Ana, El Salvador.  The were thrilled to receive the devices which will help them provide better, more comprehensive eye examinations to the population they serve.