NSU Horizons Spring/Summer 2008

25 horizons Hypertension is one of those needs. Two years ago, a cardiologist joined the team to provide echocardiograms and EKGs, or electrocardiograms. Last year, they added breast and cervical cancer screenings and were able to provide dozens of women with potentially life-saving mammograms and pap smears. This summer, their attention will turn to creating chronic disease case management teams. These teams, consisting of professionals frommany disciplines, will teach patients how to live with chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes. “Our thought is to find a way to leave them with information so they can take an active role in improving their overall health,” Anderson-Worts said. Some of last summer’s work took place in a prison where scant medical care is available only to those who can afford it. The lack of medical attention left some prisoners with illnesses and infections that hadn’t been treated in years. But, it provided a wealth of practical experience for the NSU team, who were touched by the encounters. “They were among the most polite people I’ve ever met,” said second-year COM medical student Ameneh Ebadi. “They were so appreciative of our help.” Guatemala and Ecuador Participating in humanitarian missions has helped second- year medical student Chuck Green find his calling. As the president of NSU’S DOCARE chapter, Green has traveled on missions to both Guatemala and Ecuador. He plans on full-time mission work after graduation. DOCARE International is a volunteer medical outreach organization that provides health care to indigent and isolated people. As the group’s leader, Green helps recruit both doctors and health care professionals and secure donations of supplies. He also must convince potential participants that the (up to) $1,600 trip is worth it . Green’s heartwarming tales, such as the story of a Guate- malan town where an outbreak of scabies made the children itch miserably, make it hard to turn down this opportunity to help. “We were able to make the kids more comfortable and let the moms get some sleep,” he recalls. “It is little things like that.” Green’s medical adventures were made possible by three health care professionals. Elaine Wallace, D.O., M.S., a professor and chair- man of COM’s Department of Osteopathic Principles and Practice, began organizing the missions to Guatemala and Ecuador with Larry Jensen, D.A., and Anthony Decker. At the time, all three were faculty members at the University of Health Sciences in Kansas City in the 1990s. Most of that original team temporarily relocated to NSU, providing a new base for the missions. Right now, the Ecuador mission is in its final year of a five-year plan Wallace crafted during a meeting with the first lady of Ecuador and the minister of health. A team of almost 80 people returned to Ecuador in March of 2008. The team worked in difficult conditions in different parts of Ecuador. Team members treated an indigent population living in a high altitude area at the top of a volcano in Quito, and then moved to a middle-ground region called Baeza. Finally, they traveled to Tena, a city in the Amazon rainforest. Their work often took them into the jungle, where they helped patients who live in homes with no running water or electricity. The most common ailments they treated included scabies, tuberculosis, and leishmaniasis—problems that tend to come back time and again in impoverished areas. “When we treat these patients, unfortunately, they return to very spartan conditions and frequently have the same diseases when we return,” Wallace reported. But progress is measured in other areas. They were able to distribute badly needed medicine and supplies and also spread the word about clean water supplies, hygiene, and dental care, particu- larly among the children. Ghana Far from Ecuador, Cyril Blavo, M.S., D.O., M.P.H, T.M., FACOP, physician and professor at the medical school’s Department of Pe- diatrics and director of the Master of Public Health program, is helping Ghana’s poor. Originally from the West African nation, Blavo created an organization several years ago called International Health Initiatives, Inc., to give back to his homeland. Through his nonprofit, Blavo launched several major initiatives in Ghana’s Tafi Atome region, an impoverished area of 1,250 residents. The charity helped establish long-term health care facilities in the area, including a seven-room medical facility this past year. Earlier this year, International Health Initiatives gave more than 1,100 women of child-bearing age a tetanus vaccination, cutting down on the soaring problem of maternal mortality in the area. “I always felt that, some day in my life, I would give something back and help people in those situations,” Blavo said. n A Guatemalan family proudly shows off its home during the College of Osteopathic Medicine’s 2007 medical outreach trip to Guatemala. JULIE LEVIN IS A FREELANCE WRITER BASED OUT OF SOUTH FLORIDA.