Dear Southwestern Medical Clinic Foundation,
Over four clinic days from April 17-20 our team of two doctors, one nurse practitioner, five nurses, and a paramedic were able to provide health care to approximately 100 men, women, and children in Mazatlán Mexico partnered with Back2Back Ministries. Your generous scholarship provided us the means to purchase a substantial amount of medications that made our clinics possible.
Our first day started off busy, with an abbreviated devotional and then a quick hour of organization and pill packing. This day was the most comfortable for the team as we set up a mobile health clinic in one of the rural “squatter” villages where the homes are commonly made of scrap materials and rarely have much of a floor. It felt good to be providing some basic medical care, to people who have such limited access to healthcare. It can also be challenging realizing that nothing about the environment or patient’s risk factors is being changed and likely the patient’s health is going to remain in the same condition. Clinic days like this are important to connect the local ministry and church with the people they are serving to provide a physical need, and hopefully open doors for the gospel to be shared.
Mz-2rThe rest of our week was spent serving at three orphanages providing care for the children and their caretakers. Our first was at Rancho de los Niños, which is a children's home that specifically serves those with some kind of special needs. It was a particularly challenging but rewarding day for the team as we ventured into unfamiliar territory providing care to several children with cerebral palsy, seizure disorders, autism, and several genetic disorders. It was inspiring to see the devotion of the caregivers that take care of these kids on a daily basis including a staff nurse.
The second and third orphanages were much more familiar as we spent some time with the children of the salvation army children's home and Florecer. Florecer is unique as it serves only young women who have been the victims of sexual abuse. Their new director has been a longtime partner of Back2Back ministries, and we were so excited to be working with her to help care for her new family.
MZ-1rOne of the greatest accomplishments that is sure to have a lasting impact is organizing the medication bins into individually labeled containers that were then able to be placed onto an organized formulary. This is going to be hugely beneficial for the staff as they will have access to donated over the counter medications if any acute needs come up in the absence of a medical provider. It will surely also help the new medical director for Back2Back Ministries Mazatlán. He is a family physician from California who is moving with his family to help provide full time primary care to all of the children we cared for on our trip.