Thank you for your interest in A Promise to Peru, Inc. and our cataract surgical and medical mission to the Sacred Valley region in Peru and other regions in need. This is a project that is constantly evolving as we face challenges in helping improve the lives of people who live in medically underserved areas. Case Western Reserve University Medical School and the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio originally started serving the Sacred Valley region with a medical mission of their own. Dr. John Shanley and a few medical students from Stony Brook Medical School in New York joined their team in 2010. John Shanley, MD, Debra Messina, MD and Natalie DiGioia, MD subsequently established A Promise to Peru in 2011 and it is now a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. These three physicians are on the Board of Directors along with George Coritsidis, MD, Michael Sable, MD and Catherine Roberts. The group has completed their seventh medical mission and their fifth year of providing cataract surgery to the severely visually impaired. Our organization has established a collaborative effort with healthcare professionals and physicians in Peru as well as non-profit organizations such as the Foundacion Niños del Arco Iris, Surgical Eye Expeditions, Peruvian American Medical Society, FNE International: Facilitate Network Empower, Asociación Wiñaypaq and Blanca’s House. Together we are working to improve the lives of indigent people in South America. Furthermore, through screening patients for advanced cataracts and providing cataract surgery free of charge, the project continues to build and advance towards sustainable care. Since its inception, this project has been made possible by hours of work and dedication by students, physicians, families and friends who have found a common goal of reaching out to those in need and also learning from them the challenges and the joy of providing care to a medically underserved populations.
We are truly grateful and humbled by the kindness and warmth we have received from the communities both in Peru, Ecuador and in the U.S. and the friendships we have formed over the years. Our hope is that you can bring your unique talents, skills, and passion to making this project even more fruitful and that you will gain invaluable experience through this effort.
Dates & Location of our next mission:
June 9– 17, 2017; Sacred Valley, Peru
Our medical team will host internal medicine, gynecology, dermatology, pediatric, nephrology and ultrasound clinics. It will also be the location where our optometrists and ophthalmologists will provide a full service eye clinic and where the ophthalmologists will perform cataract surgery. All of these services will be provided free of charge to the patients. Our team consists of physicians, nurses, allied health care professionals and medical, optometry and allied healthcare students from across the United States who dedicates their time and talents. Since the inception of our organization in 2011, our portable eye clinic and operating room has examined over 4,000 patients, distributed 6,700 pairs of prescription glasses/sunglasses and performed close to 400 site restoring surgical procedures. The portable medical clinic has administered health care to approximately 7,850 patients to people and performed approximately 250 portable ultrasound examinations.
You are required to leave with the mission group from JFK International Airport, NY on June 9, 2017, in order to pass through U.S. and Peruvian Customs. You may wish to travel to Machu Picchu with other members of the mission after clinic ends on Friday evening, June 16 for one night and either join the rest of the group traveling back to the USA in June 17 in the evening or you are free to travel around Peru.
About the Project
What do we do?
• A Promise to Peru, Inc. has established an annual mission to the Sacred Valley of Peru and other regions in need in an effort to provide the people in these areas with health care and address public health issues. The mission takes place for one week in June with the dedication and efforts of volunteer physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, allied health professionals from around the USA, students from Stony Brook School of Medicine and other medical schools, Masters In Public Health students, SUNY Optometry students, Allied Healthcare students and undergraduate students. The medical mission offers general medical care as well as sub specialty care such as dermatology, infectious disease, gynecology, nephrology and diagnostic ultrasonography.
Where are we going?
Centro de Salud de Calca will be our primary base. The nearest major city is Cusco, which is about 1 – 1-½ hours away by car. It is close to where Machu Picchu, the beautiful Incan ruins and one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is located http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/274. The image below is of the town of Urubamba, the Sacred Valley village.
Who is running the project?
The Board of Directors of A Promise to Peru, Inc. runs the mission in conjunction with the assistance of the graduate students from various disciplines (medical, physician assistant, nursing, optometry, etc.) and our mission participants. (FNE International) Facilitate Network Empower, a Boston-based non-profit is also supporting the project by providing services regarding travel logistics, community development, project sustainability, and institutional collaboration (http://fneinternational.org).
We rely on the assistance of the volunteering physicians and allied health professionals to actively participate in the preparation required for the trip, inclusive but not limited to preparing lectures for the medical students on a topic relating to the conditions commonly seen in Peru. The students are provided with a series of didactic lectures with topics ranging from Diagnosis and Treatment of Cataracts, Common Eye Diseases, The Work Up of Abdominal Complaints, Basic Principles of Ultrasonography and hands on experience to name a few of the topics. We receive our funding primarily through A Promise to Peru’s multiple fundraising efforts and the generosity of local businesses and medical practices. These funds are used primarily for purchasing medications, supplies and equipment for the cataract surgical and medical mission, which are then transported directly by the participants of the mission to Peru. We have had several of our participants host fund raising events in places such as Chicago and Connecticut to assist A Promise to Peru, Inc. in raising awareness of our organization as well as funds. If any of you are interested in hosting a fundraiser please contact one of the members of the board!
Why Peru?
Peru is a beautiful country with rich cultures and warm-hearted people, and we have been fortunate to work with wonderful community leaders throughout the project. We chose the location because one of the medical students who started the project got in touch with a Colorado-based, family run NGO called Peruvian Hearts (www.peruvianhearts.org). Peruvian Hearts offers support for orphanages and schools, providing nutritional and educational support to people in the Sacred Valley region. They expressed the need for healthcare for the medically underserved, and so a project was initiated to work with them. Peruvian Hearts has introduced us to the mayor of Lamay, and community leaders in the area, such as Edwin Gonzales, owner of one of the hotels where we stay, and also a generous philanthropist. We have also receive great help from Dr. Victor Rozas from the Peruvian American Medical Society in obtaining our letter of invitation from the Peruvian Minister of Health and the temporary medical licenses to practice in Peru. Helena Van Engelen and her team at Foundacion Niños Del Arco Iris (kuychi.org) have been instrumental in providing logistical support with the cataract surgery mission and medical mission. Her foundation provides education, medical care and daily meals to many uncared for children in the Sacred Valley. Dr Frilo Silva and the Caprece Eye Clinic in Cusco offers support as our host ophthalmologist. Dr Silva and his team provides the long term postoperative cataract eye care that is crucial to our mission’s success. Dr Francisco Morales a local internist aids our team in locating the patient communities that are in need of health care and cataract surgery. Our physicians participate in an International Health Symposium for local health care providers that Dr Morales and his organization, Asociación Wiñaypaq coordinates while we are in Peru. SIMPOSIO INTERNACIONAL DE SALUD EN EL VALLE SAGRADO https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.266859543498322.1073741856.100005228343422&type=1
Patient Care
What kind of patient population do we serve?
The majority of patients who come to us are farmers with limited access to medical care. We see a lot of chronic diseases, such as musculoskeletal pain, as well as women’s health issues, malnutrition, gastrointestinal complaints, skin problems and vision problems. Upper respiratory infections are also common during the season we travel to Peru (it is winter in the Southern hemisphere). Unfortunately, we also face many psychosocial issues, such as depression, alcoholism and domestic violence. We manage these issues in collaboration with the local health care workers, who understand the local culture and can provide long-term follow up. We also rely on local doctors and nurses for acutely ill patients who require hospitalization.
What languages do patients speak?
Most of the younger patients in the clinics speak Spanish, but many of the older patients from the mountain villages speak a local language called Quechua. Foundacion Ninos del Arco Iris provides personnel to translate between Quechua and Spanish. Spanish fluency is very welcomed from our participants.
What medical resources are available?
We work in a very resource limited setting. For the most part, all we have is what we bring with us in our own suitcases.
The medical diagnostic tools you have for the most part are what are in your white coat pocket – stethoscopes, ophthalmoscopes, otoscopes, and good history and physical exam skills. We bring blood pressure cuffs, thermometers, glucometers, and medications with us for the medical clinic and we transport an entire operating room and eye clinic to treat common eye diseases and perform cataract surgery.
Imaging: We don’t have access to imaging facilities. Through the generosity of SonoSite, we are able to transport two portable ultrasound units with us. This has enabled our physicians to better diagnose the etiology of patients’ abdominal complaints as well as for gynecological and obstetrical patients.
What do we do if the patients are really sick?
Depending on the site we are at, we are about 1 -3 hours from the major hospitals. If a patient needs emergent medical attention, such as surgery, IV rehydration, etc, then we would work with the local physicians to get them to the nearest hospital.
What if I get sick?
The diseases you are most likely to get are common colds and traveler’s diarrhea. Also, since we are in a high altitude, there may be a need to take acetazolamide (Diamox) for the first few days. Please make sure you have international health insurance coverage.
What would my role be in patient care?
This is flexible, depending on who else is there (or isn’t there) and what the staffing needs are. We’d like everyone to use all your talents and make the patient care as efficient, safe, and comprehensive as possible. To give you an idea, these are some examples of tasks you would do:
Pre-clinical med students (1st year students): Assist with vitals, intake, taking history and performing physical exam with either senior med. student or a physician. Help with other areas such as the pharmacy or ultrasound. Present cases with the help of an attending or a senior medical student. The student will be involved with the preoperative and postoperative medical assessment of the patient, they will be able to observe cataract surgical procedures and be involved in the pre operative ocular evaluation and post operative care and management of the patient.
Senior medical students: They are precepted by a physician. They will supervise junior medical students. Organize case presentations. They will also will be involved with the preoperative and postoperative medical assessment of the patient, they will be able to observe cataract surgical procedures and be involved in the pre operative ocular evaluation and post operative care and management of the patient.
Physician advisors: See patients in various settings, precept students in clinic, help coordinate didactics prior to departure, provide verbal/written feedback to students.
Nurses: Help with triage of patients, develop patient education material and programs, and help with patient record keeping.
Non-medical support staff: Assist with translating, record keeping, educational material, taking visual acuity, coordinating patient registration.
Please ask specific questions with regards to what your level of training and experiences are, and we can answer case by case what you can do.
Eligibility
Who is this mission open to?
The trip is open to all medical, optometry, allied healthcare professional students, undergraduate students, physicians, and allied healthcare professionals. Examples of people who we are recruiting include but are not limited to:
• Eye specialists (optometrists, ophthalmologists, ophthalmic technicians)
• Anesthesiologists
• Family Physicians, Internists
• Pediatricians
• Emergency Medicine Physicians
• Women's health specialists (Ob/Gyn physicians, midwives)
• Ultrasound Technicians
• Surgical Technicians trained for eye surgery
• Physical therapists
• Dermatologists
• Pharmacists
• Nurse practitioners/registered nurses/Operating room nurses
• Spanish translators (English-Spanish, Quechua translators)
What are the requirements for going this year?
• Attend the scheduled meetings