Photos of Volunteers at Work

Volunteers Continue Work in Colombia

Health Education and medical clinics continue at the Max Seidel Escuela site in Colombia. On board the Comfort, 41 surgeries were performed on June 10. Here is an update from Project HOPE's onboard volunteer medical director, Dr. Ken Iserson:

Neither heat, nor rain, nor thunderstorms slowed our clinical efforts ashore. More than 1,000 patients treated each day means that a large proportion of the area’s poor are receiving care; some for the first time in years. Surgery, of course, proceeded, with the Hopie surgical team contributing mightily to the effort.



-Ken

Volunteers Begin Work in Colombia

On Sunday, Continuing Promise 2009 opened the doors of a clinic in Tumaco, Colombia, and a parade of distinguished guests visited the site to mark the occasion, including Tumaco’s mayor, the governor of Colombia’s Nariño state (where Tumaco is located), U.S. Ambassador to Colombia William Brownfield, and Colombian rock-star Juanes. It was impossible for them not to be impressed by what they saw.

Personnel from all four branches of the military, two government agencies, and three NGOs toiling away in equatorial heat. An entire school campus—more than a dozen buildings—transformed overnight into a medical super-site offering care in more than a dozen different medical specialties. And most importantly, over a thousand patients—some of whom had come from hours away, and some of whom had been sick or injured for months or even years—receiving care from world-class providers.

Among those providers were more than a dozen Project HOPE volunteers triaging patients, performing surgical screenings, managing patient flow, and providing primary care. Project HOPE’s nurse educators, whose training program hadn’t yet begun, used their skills to teach waiting patients important health skills, such as infant CPR and basic hygiene.


While working in the optometry center, returning HOPE volunteer Barbara Perdikakis showed what a difference dedication and know-how can make. She noticed that one of the patients there for eye-care was missing his right leg and was getting around with the help of a giant stick. Through a translator, Barbara asked the man whether he’d like to get fitted for crutches. He enthusiastically said yes. So after ensuring that his eyes had been taken care of, Barbara arranged for the man to see the Navy’s physical therapist, who did the man one better, giving him a brand-new wheelchair that had been donated by the Wheelchair Foundation. If Barbara had any doubts that her patient was ecstatic, the high-five he gave her on the way out put them to rest.

-Daniel

Saturday, June 6

We arrived in Tumaco today after a three-day voyage from Panama. To the frustration of everybody on board, travelling from country to country involves unavoidable pauses in the mission’s humanitarian work. Everyone is looking forward to tomorrow, when the mission resumes in full swing.

Still, the last several days have been memorable for all aboard, and no HOPE volunteers will forget the inspiring example we witnessed of how the Navy honors a departed colleague.
We awoke Tuesday morning, our last day in Panama, to the tragic news that Chief Petty Officer Pamela Branum, one of the senior enlisted Navy personnel aboard, had passed away the previous night in her sleep. Her sudden death caused an appropriately somber mood to come over the ship. Sailors who had known, worked with, and loved Chief Branum for years comforted one another and shared her memory with those of us not fortunate to have known her well.

Those of us who have not had to deal with as much death as our military counterparts also learned a powerful lesson about their fortitude. At the nightly brief that evening, and then again at a memorial ceremony the following day, several of Chief Branum’s close friends spoke about her death. They movingly shared how much Chief Branum meant to them and how much they would feel her loss, and then each concluded with the same thought: that there is no greater way to honor Chief Branum’s memory than to dedicate this mission to her and, in that spirit, to redouble our efforts to help as many people as possible.

-Daniel

Saving Vacation Time to Volunteer, Project HOPE's Megan Rohm Brings Smiles to Patients on the USNS Comfort

Three years ago, as a nursing student at Johns Hopkins University, Megan Rohm first learned of Project HOPE from a friend who had volunteered on a mission. "When I heard of Project HOPE, I felt like the mission aligned with my personal goal of providing care to underserved populations who lack access to basic hygience, care, and health education. Project HOPE offered the opportunity to use my nursing skills to benefit such people," Megan said.

After graduating, Megan moved to Seattle and began working as a telemetry nurse. For two years, she patiently gained the nursing experience that would allow her to serve with Project HOPE. It's not that Megan couldn't have applied to volunteer earlier. She just wanted to make sure that when she volunteered, her skills were strong enough to really help. So she worked, and she waited. And she worked, and she worked.


Megan's sights were set on volunteering with Project HOPE, so for those two years she didn't take vacation. Day-by-day she accumulated vacation hours until finally she had enough for six weeks off. Now she's spending every hour of vacation she'd earned serving with Project HOPE. Megan joined Continuing Promise 2009 one month ago in Antigua, and is serving on the mission's Antigua, Panama, and Colombia legs. She works in the USNS Comfort's "hotel"--the ward where patients and their families stay before surgeries. More than anything, people in the hotel need to be put at ease. "We try to lift their spirits before surgery," Megan said, "and to make the process more relaxed and fun."

Megan lights up when talking about her patients, especially the kids. The truth is, the kids are more than patients. They're fellow fans while watching movies. They're dance partners during the hotel's nightly dance parties. They're teammates during soccer games in the hallway. Megan says that her military counterparts are especially great with the kids. Different military branches have donated toys to the hotel, and the hotel's guests recently were treated to a visit and performance by the Air Force Band.

One patient in particular stands out for Megan. Eight-year-old Roberto was aboard the Comfort to have surgery to fix a hernia that he'd had for a year. Even though he was nervous about the surgery, and even when he was having blood drawn, he was "all smiles." When Megan went to visit him after the surgery, she could see that he was in a lot of pain. She brought him some toys. He thanked her with a huge hug. She's sure she got the better half of the trade.

-Daniel Feith

HOPE Volunteers Razzle-Dazzle 'Em

The dedication of HOPE volunteers knows no bounds. At a training session in Panama, HOPE volunteers Elise Chamberlain, Iilene Smith, and Jane Bower added some razzle-dazzle to the lesson plan. Ably assisted by Navy nurses, Elise, Iilene, and Jane performed the "EKG Dance," a YouTube sensation meant to help students visualize arrythmic cardiac conditions. With their arms representing atria and their legs, ventricles, the chorus line of educators wiggled, kicked, dipped, shimmied, and generally boogied to the beat of cardiac rhythms. The rhythms may have been irregular, and the dance, frankly, bizarre, but by the end of the session, every student had joined in. Learning lifesaving skills and a new dance isn't bad for a day's work.

The number of lives Continuing Promise 2009 touches is simply staggering. At the mission's halfway point, Project HOPE volunteers and their military and civilian partners have seen 40,000 patients, performed 112 surgeries and had 170,745 medical encounters. Amazingly, the treatment pace is only accelerating.

But Continuing Promise 2009 is leaving another, equally important legacy in its ports of call, thanks in great part to HOPE volunteers' efforts. Every day, HOPE volunteers and their military counterparts are training local doctors, nurses, paramedics, and students in important lifesaving techniques, including Basic Life Support, Advanced Cardiac Life Support, and Pediatric Advanced Life Support.

One student, a paramedic-in-training, said that she and several friends attended the class on their own time to gain and hone skills that they will use in their jobs every day. And that's precisely the hope. In the parlance of our Navy hosts, these students are force multipliers for Continuing Promise's efforts. By learning and then applying lifesaving skills, they advance the mission's goal: bringing quality health care to as many people in the Americas as possible.

-Daniel

Project HOPE Volunteer Recognized for Outstanding Patient Care

For HOPE volunteer Tauna-Louise Ainslie, going above and beyond is just another day's work.

For 10 years, Tauna has worked two nursing jobs on the Hawaiian island of O'ahu: one, as a crisis nurse at Queens Medical Trauma Center, a state-of-the-art facility serving the entire Pacific Rim, and a second as a nurse at Kahuku Medical Center on the North Shore, a rural, six-bed ER near her home, working one-on-one with the ER's sole doctor to ensure that residents of that area have access to quality urgent care.

"I love my two jobs," Tauna said. "I like helping people--making a difference, however small. A good save, after you've spent hours working on a patient...that's fantastic."

Tauna's commitment to nursing made her want desperately to assist the relief efforts after the Southeast Asian Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, but her jobs could not spare her. So when, this year, she finally was able to take time off, she did something that distinguishes her even among HOPE's volunteers: she offered to serve for all four months of Operation Continuing Promise.

Life aboard the USNS Comfort has required some adjustment by Tauna. A self-described "free spirit," Tauna marvels at the regimented lives that sailors, airmen, soldiers, and Marines lead and makes no secret of how alien the military lifestyle is from her own.

Nevertheless, she has earned the respect and admiration of her military colleagues. On May 29, Tauna was only the second civilian volunteer--the first also came from Project HOPE--to be named Person of the Day by Continuing Promise's commanding officers. The award recognized not just Tauna's weeks of service, but the particular way her creativity and commitment had touched the life of a Panamanian girl.

Earlier that week, Tauna was working at Roberto Mariano Stadium, the largest of the several medical sites being run by Comfort personnel. As the work-day was drawing to a close, she noticed that there wouldn't be enough time to see all women's health patients. Many had been waiting to see a doctor since daybreak, and Tauna understood that for most, this was their one chance for medical attention. So Tauna re-interviewed and re-triaged as many patients as possible--not once, but twice. Those with flu, fever, and other general illnesses she sent to the general medicine unit. Those with specific women's health needs, she kept in line and worked to speed them through to the doctors.

One of the women who stayed in line was a teenager carrying her seven-month-old baby. She told Tauna she thought she was pregnant again. Her eyes told Tauna how fearful she was. Tauna made sure she got a pregnancy test, and went about helping other patients. Several hours later, the young mother timidly tapped Tauna's shoulder. Her test was positive, and she looked distraught. Her family had kicked her out, and her babies' fathers had abandoned her. She lived in a neighborhood that volunteers and aid agencies dared not enter. She was desperate.

Tauna feared how this young mother would cope but knew she couldn't help her directly. The Comfort would pull-up anchor and depart Panama in just a short time, and the girl's needs were longer-term. So instead Tauna brought the girl's case to the attention of a local NGO--one whose volunteers normally couldn't enter the girl's neighborhood. They immediately saw what Tauna saw, and understood that the girl's plight deserved an exception.
They would send volunteers to her home, they told her, and would bring her food, clothing, and financial support for her family.

For the girl, this was a life-line. She was filled with gratitude, she told Tauna, and more than that, she now felt a little bit of hope.

-Daniel

Farewell to Panama

My two weeks with Project HOPE volunteers onboard the USNS Comfort is coming to a close. It’s been such a privilege to spend time with these inspiring professionals who leave behind their comfortable world for months at a time to offer health care and health education to those with so little. In such a short time, I’ve met new lifelong friends, reconnected with volunteers I have worked with in the past, experienced different cultures and learned a bit about life in the Navy. But most of all, I rekindled my spirit and enthusiasm for the work we do at Project HOPE. In a world where it sometimes seems like there is more wrong than right, our volunteers show everyday that a little care, a bit of compassion and an offer of HOPE goes a long way.

I would especially like to thank Paul Kline, a documentary photographer who accompanied me on this segment of Continuing Promise 2009. A true humanitarian with a sincere concern for others, especially children, Paul not only donated his time and amazing talent, he is donating to Project HOPE all the photos he took of our volunteers at work in Panama.

There are so many more stories to tell. Thankfully, Daniel Feith joined our group late last week, and he will be blogging about our volunteers as they continue their work. (I may sneak in a few more stories myself.) Former speechwriter for Condoleezza Rice and John Negroponte, Daniel is excited to be documenting the work of Project HOPE volunteers.

As always, thanks for reading.

-Melanie

Volunteers bring Lifesaving Training to Mission in Colon

From a fourth-floor room at the Policentro de Salud Dr. Juan A. Nunèz clinic in downtown Colon, the forecastle of the USNS Comfort is just visible in the skyline. The bold red cross set against the bright white tower offers a stark contrast to the view of rusted rooftops patched with mix-matched sheets of steel and tarps held down with varying materials.

For the past few days, I have been writing about the patient care our volunteers have been providing. To date, nearly 12,000 people have been cared for by doctors, nurses and other medical professionals during the Comfort’s visit to Panama.

But equally important to the Continuing Promise 2009 humanitarian mission is health education. Today, I accompanied Project HOPE volunteers Jane Bower, Elise Chamberlain, Iilene Smith and Sheila Cardwell as they continued health education classes at the Policentro Del Salud in the center of city of Colon.

Volunteers, along with their counterparts, have presented classes in wound care, burns, pre-hospital transport, infection control, pain management, shock and bleeding as well as Basic Life Support (BLS) Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support(PALS).

On the surface, the story may not be as touching as the one of a mother hearing the good news that her young daughter is no longer anemic, or the story of Carlos, receiving an operation that will allow him to get back to work. Yet the education the volunteers are providing will have lasting impact, long after the Comfort leaves Colon.

Besides...Jane, Elise, Iilene and Sheila know how to make learning fun. After some necessary lecture time, the 30–some doctors, nurses and young EMTs participating in a three-day lifesaving course spent the rest of the day practicing Pediatric Advanced Life Support skills using child-size mannequins. The volunteers provided the students with varying emergency scenarios in which to respond.

Using her Spanish speaking skills, Elise enthusiastically called out “No Responda, No Respira” and the students got to work practicing intubation, CPR, bagging procedures and more. Claps and cheers erupted from fellow students when the responder succeeded.


While the students in this particular class were well trained professionals, Jane, Project HOPE’s lead health educator explained, “Being recertified for BLS, ACLS and PALS is very expensive here, but recertification is very important. Whether you are a practicing nurse, doctor or EMT, this information and these procedures need to be reviewed on a regular basis. The more you practice, the more it becomes second nature.”


“This is very fun,” Sheila added of the three-day training. “We are offering them the training they need and the are very engaged and enthusiastic.”

Most of the students in the classes are Spanish speakers. While Jane speaks Spanish well, teaching medical training in a second language can be challenging. But the language barrier is proving to be an educational tool in itself. “It actually helps," she said. "The broken Spanish we speak actually gets the students to engage even more. They want to help us with our Spanish so they become even more involved with the lesson.”

That involvement spills over to the hands-on training as well. On the floor with five EMTs, Iilene who is not a Spanish speaker used animated gestures and facial expressions to demonstrate opening an airway in an emergency situation. “It works,” she said. Referring to her experience to date, Iilene added, “Whether we are training two students or 30, if one person gets the message and shares it with someone else , than it is worth it. That is what this mission is all about.”

To date, Project HOPE volunteers along with their NGO and military counterparts have participated in 15,000 health education encounters.

(Check back later in the week for video of volunteers using the "EKG Dance" as a teaching tool." )

Thanks for reading- Melanie

KidzCare and Volunteers Partner to Bring Smiles in Panama

Before I left for Panama, I had the opportunity to visit some young philanthropists at KidzCare USA in Maryland. They wanted to learn more about Project HOPE's health education and humanitarian assistance mission and they wanted to help. The students put together small bags filled with pencils, paper, pencil sharpeners, crayons and erasers and gave them to me to take to Colon.

Yesterday,volunteer nurse Carolyn Springman visited an indigenous village in Panama, and she took the gift bags with her. "When I started to hand out the bags, the kids glanced over at their mothers to make sure it was okay," Carolyn said. "When they got the okay, their eyes lit up."

Carolyn said the children began to draw pictures immediately with their new pencils and paper, and many rushed over to show her their art work. "We had the exact amount of bags for the exact number of kids that were there," she added.

A first-time volunteer for Project HOPE, Carolyn has been overwhelmed by her experience to date. "What impresses me the most is that these people have nothing at all, but every single one had a smile on their face. They were so extremely welcoming to us."

Whether she is taking care of patients, educating on health issues or just sitting with a child to marvel over a hand-drawn picture, Carolyn believes every interaction makes a difference. "It's just not the things we learn in nursing school that we are using here. We are putting band-aids on people's hearts."

Thanks Carolyn and thanks to the students at KidzCare USA.

-Melanie