HISTORY OF GLOBAL MEDICAL BRIGADES @ UCI
Global Medical Brigades @ UC Irvine Summer '08 Report

Friday and Saturday, 13/14 June 2008

Members assembled first at UCI and departed to LAX at 7:30PM. The flight left at 1AM on the 14th en route to San Salvador, San Pedro, and finally Tegucigalpa. Our brigade consisted of 24 volunteers from UCI, 1 MD, and 2 RN's along with 5 MAP Packages packed into 14 assorted suitcases of medical supplies, vitamins, and extra equipment.

The group arrived at Tegucigalpa and was transported to an orphanage where time was spent acclimating to the environment and playing with the children. After playing soccer and settling in, the group then proceeded to Rapacco ranch where they would be staying for the next several days. At night, the medicines were unloaded and put into individual treatment bags so that patients the following day would be able to take them home.

The brigade at this point was joined by 4 “Open Brigadiers”, students and graduates from various colleges who had signed up to join one of the several schools in the area. Bringing the total amount of members to 29 volunteers, 2 nurses, and 1 MD.

4th years Michael Nelson, Jon Hernandez and 1st years Zubin
Hassan, and Scott Carr entertaining the orphans.

Sunday and Monday, 16 June 2008

The first brigade took place in a village outside the ranch about one hour away. The group of volunteers were separated into 3 components: triage, consultation, and pharmacy. The triage consisted of 3-4 student volunteers that assessed patients for various conditions, conducted blood pressure measurements for those older than 30 years, and weighed children under 15 years old. Spanish speaking students served as translators for the medical professionals and received many complements for their control of the language and intuitive knowledge of the culture and care for the people.

~200 members of the local community were served on this day. At approximately 2PM, the volunteers returned to their dorms where they spent the day resting and repacking several medicines.

Tuesday, 17 June 2008

Early this morning the final brigadier from UCI arrived bringing the total group to 29 volunteers, 2 nurses, and 1 MD. The group traveled out to another village in the morning and treated approximately 150 individuals for various ailments such as pains, parasites, and malnutrition.

In addition, several members of the brigade were recruited to help construct stoves that would help with housing ventilation. Many of the houses in the area suffered from poor ventilation which leads to recurring respiratory problems; especially among the young women who spent most of their time indoors cooking. The group returned to Rapaco at approximately 3PM, and continued medical preparations and got rest for the next day.

Wednesday, 18 June 2008

On this day the group traveled out to another village approximately 2 hours away and was met with a patient population totaling to 600 throughout the day. This was by far the busiest day for the brigade. However the large number did not deter the quality of care that was received for the individuals, many patients expressed their gratitude to members of the triage, consultation, and especially pharmacy teams.

Many patients had come from hours away to be seen by the brigade and expressed their gratitude for the presence and care of the group.

2nd years Jhyme Laude, Caroline Song, Kellie LeCou, Ida Cam, Tiffany Liu, and 4th year Teny Avakian working inside the makeshift pharmacy

4th year Jon Hernandez distributing medicine outside the pharmacy

Thursday, 19 June 2008

This was the final brigade that the group would make. Once again with preparations from the previous night, the group was dispatched to another local village where they were greeted with many smiling children from a local school. On this day, the group served approximately 150 individuals, sung and played with the children, and helped construct another stove.

The group was then greeted by a dinner and celebration by the caretakers back at the ranch for all their hard work and dedication to the mission. After the dinner, the UCLA, Berkeley, and UC Santa Barbara groups met and celebrated the success of the medical missions. Overall, the groups had treated over 4,000 members of the local community.

Friday, 20 June 2008

The last day was spent in reflection and relaxation for the group. The group visited the capital, Tegucigalpa, and hiked up to see several monuments. Lunch was served at a local restaurant and the remainder of the day was spent shopping for souvenirs and reflecting on improvements that could be made for future trips.

Saturday and Sunday, 21/22 June 2008

Due to recent events in Honduras, the group left early to the airport in Tegucigalpa only to find that their flight had been cancelled. They were then ferried across the country to the San Pedro airport where their flight was once again cancelled. To help remedy the problem, TACA airlines accommodated the travelers with a night in the Intercontinental hotel, and rescheduled their flight to the following day.