"This has been a wonderful experience that has far exceeded my expectations,” said Dr. John Wilson, program director and infectious diseases physician with Mayo Clinic.

AHUACHAPAN, El Salvador – When Marta arrived at the medical clinic in her small town of Junquillo, she wasn’t expecting to be treated by a physician from a world-renowned medical center.

Neither were the 450 others who came to the Operation Blessing clinic that day hoping to get medical treatment for problems that ranged from colds and arthritis to parasites and respiratory infections.

But world-class treatment was exactly what they got thanks to a team of 7 doctors from the Minnesota-based Mayo Clinic who came to El Salvador as part of a pilot project for the Mayo Clinic Department of Medicine Program in Underserved Global Health.

“This program has been two years in the making and this is our first official trip,” said Dr. John Wilson, program director and infectious diseases physician with Mayo Clinic.

With specialties ranging from general internal and family medicine to infectious diseases, the Mayo team spent the first part of the week lecturing to medical professionals at a local university and the second half treating patients in municipal health clinics and rural communities.

The program’s goals are to bring medical treatment to underserved communities, as well as train and equip in-country health care providers and clinics with the education and resources needed to provide continuing care to these impoverished communities.

That’s great news for mothers like 22-year-old Marta and others like her who have limited access to clinics and cannot afford health care. For 6 months, Marta had been experiencing pain in her ears, and for the last 6 days, her 8-month-old son, Victor, has been fighting flu-like symptoms.

During the field clinics, each doctor treated an average of 50 patients a day for a 2-day total of 964 patients.

Dr. Mark Enzler, who specializes in infectious diseases and general internal medicine with Mayo Clinic, promptly diagnosed Marta with an ear infection and sent her to the pharmacy station where she received free medicine to treat herself and her son.

During the field clinics, each doctor treated an average of 50 patients a day for a 2-day total of 964 patients.

“This has been a wonderful experience that has far exceeded my expectations,” said Dr. Wilson. “Working with an experienced organization like OBI who has a proven track record in underserved health care will allow us to provide a level of education and sustainable health care for the population in need.

“From the Mayo Clinic standpoint, we couldn’t have been more fortunate to have formed both a friendship and partnership with OBI, and we look forward to strategizing what follow-up projects we can do to ensure that what is done today will be continued in the future,” Wilson added.

HOW YOU CAN HELP
Be a part of OBI's ongoing medical relief efforts by making an online contribution to help those suffering from extreme poverty and sickness.

 

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