Perspectives Spring 2015

PERSPECTIVES • SPRING 2015 35 PHYSICAL THERAPY Fort Lauderdale TANZANIA Medical Outreach Trip a BIG Success By Laura Toomey, D.P.T. (Class of 2014), and Shari Rone-Adams, D.B.A., M.H.S.A., PT, Director Entry-Level D.P.T. Programs aura Toomey, a 2014 D.P.T. graduate, participated in a medical outreach trip to Tanzania last summer that was sponsored by Women Orthopaedist Global Outreach (WOGO). The organization was established in 2006 by five female orthope- dic surgeons who had a vision of serving the global community by reducing the chronic burden of arthritis and disability through total joint reconstruction. The trips WOGO sponsors consist of an initial evaluation expedition where the physicians meet with local health care professionals to screen, evaluate, and take X-rays of poten- tial surgical candidates. During this trip, the team plans for supplies that will be needed to perform the surgeries. The second trip is a surgical outing where the team spends a week in the med- ical outreach city performing scheduled surgeries. The goal is to provide as many joint reconstruction surgeries as time and donations allow. All surgeries are per- formed during the first part of the week, while the latter portion is dedicated to the patients’ rehabilitation. Local physical therapists are trained by PT team mem- bers on how to carry out the rehabilita- tion process. During the summer 2014 Tanzania trip, the team was able to treat 32 patients and replace 44 joints. The team consisted of seven female surgeons, three anesthesiolo- gists, recovery room, OR, and floor nurses, three PTs, scrub techs, three PAs, and two internists. All donations of joints and sur- gical instruments were provided by Zim- merman. With only 3 PTs on hand, there were very busy days working with the pa- tients. When the surgeries were over, many surgeons and nurses helped the PT ambu- late the patients while the PTs provided one-on-one care and manual therapy to those who needed the extra help. “Even though most of us had met for the first time at the airport only days prior, we quickly teamed up to provide the best care we could,” Dr. Toomey explained. “I expe- rienced an energy I’d never had before, even with knowing all of us were there on our own free time and had been at the hospital for 12 hours already.” The team also was able to do addi- tional community work outside of the surgeries, which included visiting Plaster House—a nonprofit organization that provides pro-bono orthopedic and plastic surgeries to children from throughout Tanzania. The children stay at the Plaster House until they are done with their treatment and rehabilitation. To provide a level of comfort, the team brought col- oring books, socks/underwear, T-shirts, and school supplies. “I still think about the sweet kids at the Plaster House,” Dr. Toomey admitted. “None of them spoke English, and we only knew a few Swahili words and phrases, but they opened their arms to us for hugs, with smiles on their faces, want- ing to run around the courtyard with us.” The team also had the opportunity to team up with Soles4Souls to help distrib- ute shoes, T-shirts, and pants to over 600 children in the schools and village. L Dr. Laura Toomey and patient Aurelia Richard celebrating success after knee-replacement surgery. Continued on the next page...