Northwestern Trip March 09-22

For those of you who are diligently following my blog (mom/dad, grandma/grandpa, and hopefully a few others not required to by bloodline), I apologize for the prolonged absence these past 2 weeks.  Our Northwestern team of Dr. Mamta Swaroop, Ms. Inge LeBlanc, and Ms. Jen Mullen arrived on 03/09 and 03/13 and we have been hard at work until their departure yesterday/today.

While I need to get some sleep and spend some time processing/writing about all that has happened, I want to thank Dr. Swaroop, Ms. Jen Mullen, Ms. Inge LeBlanc, Dr. Tamara Worlton, Dr. Christian Fuentes, Mauricio Laguna, and Dr. Kevin Broyles and Ms. Gwen Ellis of HOPEworldwide for their many contributions that made these past 2 weeks such a success.  I cannot thank you enough for your incredible commitment and countless sacrifices that have allowed our projects to grow beyond belief.

To provide a quick summary of the two weeks (with more info to come):

– Over 230 police/firemen, nurses, medical students, and physicians trained in First Response/Basic Trauma Care, with over 15,000 data points collected.

A group of medical students from Hospital Arco Iris after one of our courses.

– Resounding success as keynote speakers for the First International Symposium on Neurotrauma as well as two city-wide nursing conferences.

Ms. Jen Mullen speaking to a standing-room-only crowd of nurses. [I apologize for the poor quality…but there wasn’t enough room for me to even enter the auditorium and get a proper picture!]

– 4 television and 2 national newspaper stories supporting the bomberos and our initiative, with numerous invitations to expand our course on a national level.

A group of bomberos (firemen) and police immobilizing a patient’s cervical spine and using a simple sheet to apply a pelvic binder for a hemorrhaging open-book pelvic fracture.

– Over $25,000 of new laparoscopic equipment donated to Hospital Arco Iris.  For these donations, we owe a special thanks to our friends at Covidien, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and Dr. Tamara Worlton of Walter Reed Medical Center.

The first of 3 suitcases of donated laparoscopic equipment

– The beginning of successful partnerships with Hospital Arco Iris, HOPEworldwide, the La Paz Police/Bomberos, and the Inter-American Development Bank.  As Dr. Swaroop noted last night at one final midnight meeting (working till the very last minute), we are incredibly grateful to have developed so many great friendships and relationships that will continue to drive health promotion here in Bolivia for years to come.

From right to left: Ms. Jen Mullen, myself, Dr. Mamta Swaroop, Ms. Inge LeBlanc
(Note: I am sitting and Dr. Swaroop is standing…hard to tell a difference.)

Again, thank you all for your support and we will all be sure to provide more updates over this upcoming week.

Steven

Advertisement