Elias Pina

    We did another clinic today in the most poverty stricken barrio we have been to yet.  We set up shop at the only community building located in the area. It consisted of four walls, probably smaller than my bedroom back home.  The Dominicans are very creative when it comes to building with the resources they have available. So needless to say, we crammed five stations into a very small area.  We had an intake station, vital signs and weight, two doctor stations, and the pharmacy.  

    Our lovely doctors: Dr. Lebron

and Dr. Jennifer

  

   I started the morning off with Dr. Jennifer.  She was one of the most patient and compassionate doctors I have ever met.  Families with up to 13 children would come and there seemed to be a lot of grandparents who brought their grandchildren in to be seen at the clinic.  Most complaints consisted of flu-like symptoms, which they call Gripe, abdominal pain, headaches (usually because their blood pressure was 200/100), skin rashes, bug bites, etc.  When something is assessed that can not be addressed at the clinic with the medication and equipment we brought, a referral was made to another resource.  After that, I spent some time at the vitals station. Most individuals I encountered did not even know to close your mouth around a thermometer because most had never seen a digital thermometer.  As the day passed on and more and more people came, our pharmacy was in full work load.  I spent the rest of the afternoon in the pharmacy catching up with filling the necessary medications our lovely doctors prescribed.  Again we passed out vitamins to all ages. We used a little window to the right of the below picture as our consult/education area to help decrease the clutter of people within the small room we were in.  It was extremely hot in this corner today!          

   During a lunch break, I walked behind the small building and sat to look out over the barrio and mountains.  Eventually, these children joined me.  I couldn't tell if they were speaking Spanish or Creole, as we were even closer to the Haiti border than we were yesterday.  But it didn't matter, just company.  They seem just as interested in us being there as we are experiencing their culture and everyday norms.   

 

 

    We are heading to the coast in the morning, back to the country's capitol, Santo Domingo.  Tomorrow night we are staying at a resort on the beach named Barcelo Capella!