NEPA Vital Signs - Winter Spring 2019 - 17

WINTER/SPRING 2019

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

"Every morning in Haiti we would open the gates to the
facility and see crowds of people waiting to get treated.
These people were extremely thankful for whatever
help we could offer. The teenagers on the team rotated
through different sections of the facility, so we could each
get experience in different areas."
Over 1,000 medical encounters were conducted during the week-long project, including
19 surgical procedures. Other services included
health education on hygiene, oral exams and
fluoride varnish applications. Short term
medical missions have recently come under
a lot of scrutiny for various reasons, but if we
collaborate with the local community members in determining priorities and address the
needs with sustainable interventions, we can
make a lasting impact on the communities we
serve, while acknowledging the educational
and other benefits we as volunteers derive
from participating in such projects.
Rebekah Schnatz, a fourteen-year-old
student, accompanied her father, Dr. Peter
Schnatz, an obstetrician/gynecologist (and
CEO of FaithCare), on this trip and this is
what she had to say:

the operating room. I had the privilege of
working with my dad in the operating room.
It was amazing being able to help with various
operations, including a hysterectomy. It is
impossible to completely describe all the
emotions I felt during this trip. One particularly moving experience was when the patient
who had a hysterectomy started humming
the tune of the hymn "How Great Thou Art"
as she awoke from anesthesia. I thought this
was incredible because even though we spoke
different languages, we could unite in our love
for God. We later found out that this woman
had been bleeding for years and had come to
the FaithCare team the previous year to get
help, but the surgeon had already left by the
time she arrived. Her story is amazing and I
loved seeing how happy she was to receive
this much-needed operation. After returning
to America, I realized how much we take for
granted. I believe that we should be more
thankful. Rather than being dissatisfied with
what we have, we should remember that there
are people in our world who only have a mere
fraction of the belongings that we own and
they are often very grateful for what they
do have. My trip to Haiti was life changing.
It taught me so many lessons and provided
experiences that I will never forget."

VITAL SIGNS

Rebekah is a tenth grader at Berks
Catholic High School in Reading,
PA and plans to become a health
care professional. Dr Simoyan is the
director of the addiction medicine
fellowship at Geisinger Marworth
and an associate professor of family
medicine and epidemiology at the
Geisinger Commonwealth School of
Medicine in Scranton, PA. She has
volunteered with various medical
mission organizations and will be
returning to Nigeria in the fall of 2018
where she will conduct trainings on
mental health in primary care for
resident physicians at a mission hospital in Egbe, Kogi State. She will also
conduct workshops addressing the
impact of mental health on learning
for school teachers in conjunction
with C.A.R.E. Africa.
For anyone interested in exploring
medical and non- medical volunteer
opportunities, contact information
for some organizations including the ones referenced above
is listed below:
FAITHCARE, INC.: www.faithcare.
net; hope@faithcare.net (short term
medical missions)
PRO-HEALTH INTERNATIONAL:
http://prohealthimpact.com (short
term medical missions)
C.A.R.E. AFRICA: https://egbehospital.org/care-africa (orphan
care and education)
ECWA HOSPITAL, EGBE, NIGERIA:
https://egbehospital.org (short and
long- term opportunities)
SAMANA FOUNDATION: william.
lovett@towerhealth.org (short term
opportunities, Dominican Republic)
HEART TO HEART HAITI:
https://www.hearttohearthaiti.
com/ (healthcare, education, short
term opportunities)

http://www.faithcare.net http://prohealthimpact.com https://egbehospital.org/care-africa https://egbehospital.org https://www.hearttohearthaiti.com

NEPA Vital Signs - Winter Spring 2019

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