| EMT Mandy Barnett traveled to El Naranjito, Dominican Republic as part of a medical mission January 12-18.
El Naranjito is a small village of roughly 75 natives, and located about 35 miles northwest of Santiago in the mountains. The people farm and live off of the land with very few holding jobs outside of the house. The yearly family income is measured in hundreds of dollars. Running water has been established, although plumbing is a luxuary. Electricity is spotty, sometimes going several weeks between bursts of power.
It became apparent 12 years ago that the village and surrounding area was in need of basic medical care while mastermind, Frank Brightwell, was with a group of high school students building a school house. When he returned home, he recruited his doctor and dentist, and together they made a makeshift clinic in the back of the church on the next trip. From there, the mission developed into the group of 50 volunteers that it is today. Somos Amigos Medical Missions travels twice a year to a permanent clinic in El Naranjito, and is comprised of 8 doctors, 6 dentists, nurses, dental hygenists, translators, students, and anyone else interested in making a difference.
Every patient recieves enough vitamins to last until the group returns as well as any other medication that they may need. The majority of the complaints are headaches, colds, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Women's health is a recent addition, with the clinic providing pap smears and breast exams. If the clinic is not able to provide the level of care that the patient requires, they are sent to a larger permanent clinic in the city of Santiago at no cost to them. The dental area provides a full service dental clinic including cleanings, fillings, extractions, root canals, and custom dentures.
The volunteers put in long hours in the clinic-- 8am-10:30pm. Each of the three full days that the clinic was open, they saw 180 patients, plus another 60 on the last half day.
During the day, Mandy was stationed in the new blood lab, where she drew blood samples for CBC, CMP, and lipid profiles (electrolytes, cell counts, and cholesterol). At night, she stayed in the house of one of the locals. The weather was warm during the day peaking in the low 80's without humidity, and dropping into the chilly upper 40's at night. The houses are made of wood, and are not air tight-- allowing the wind and cool air along with the relentless rooster to make a good night's sleep difficult.
Mandy touched the lives of many, and plans on returning in the future to continue to make a difference. |
