Category: Peru

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Independence Day Around the World

Celebrating Unique Cultures and Traditions

July 04, 2018

Lindsey Mills

The Fourth of July has been celebrated in the United States of America since independence was declared from the British Empire in 1776. The day is commemorated with many traditions, including backyard barbeques, fireworks, parades, and displaying the national flag.

While Real Medicine Foundation’s headquarters are based in the US, we are a global organization with more than 1,500 team members in 19 countries around the world. As our team in the US celebrates the 4th of July, our teams in Perú and Uganda look forward to upcoming celebrations.

Perú’s Military Parade

…

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Perú: Building a Team Committed to Quality Care

An Interview with Flood Relief Team Member, Ruth Betsabe Solis Mamani

November 21, 2017 - Peru

Lindsey Becker Mills

"Find the right people, and you can build anything.” – Dr. Martina Fuchs, Founder and CEO of Real Medicine Foundation

The RMF Perú team started with just 2 volunteers sent to assess the level of need after a massive earthquake in August 2007, and in December of that year, RMF opened Policlínico Peruano Americano in its permanent location of San Clemente, where it continues to operate successfully today.

Most recently, there have been six months of flooding and landslides in Perú, with very little international media attention. Joining together to help, RMF…

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Perú: Coming Together to Show Compassion

An Interview with Beneficiary, Manuel Risco Gómez

November 13, 2017 - Peru

Lindsey Becker Mills

“The purpose of human life is to serve, show compassion, and have the will to help others.” – Guido Pujalt Mancini, RMF Perú volunteer

Our world has seen an onslaught of natural disasters in the recent past. In the course of two months, the US has experienced massive flooding from hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. We are still struggling to cope with the devastation of these storms, especially in rural areas of Puerto Rico.

Starting in December of last year, Perú, with its extreme geography and limited resources, has faced six months…

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Noemi: Case Study

A Specific Financial Need in Peru

December 05, 2016 - Peru

Magali M. de Pujalt

Noemi

Hope Through Continued Treatment

View this story, as well as the report, on it’s original page.

7-year-old Noemí is youngest of four siblings, and was born on March 11, 2009 in San Clemente. At two days old, she was taken to the emergency room, where she was diagnosed with bronchial pneumonia and had to stay in an incubator for several days.

In 2011, when Noemí was 2 years old, she would try to stand up, but was not able to. Her legs had no strength or stability. Her parents…

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Real Medicine Foundation 2010/2011 Annual Report Published

February 06, 2012

Click on link to visit our website where Annual Report can be viewed and downloaded as a PDF document

http://www.realmedicinefoundation.org/initiative/update/annual-report-20102011

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Photos from our Chocolatada Christmas Party in Peru

January 06, 2012 - Peru

 

On the 17th of December, our clinic staff in Peru, celebrated with an early Christmas party with some of the children and former patients of our clinic.  Thanks to the the contribution of friends and family, the party was held with gifts, food, and a musical clown show for the children.

This year the party was held at one of the local municipality community centers, and we were able to provide a total of 110 gifts for the children. 90 of these gifts were handed out to the children at the party and…

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Thank You For An Amazing Year!

January 04, 2012

Photo: Dr. Martina C. Fuchs, RMF Founder/CEO, making new friends at the Lwala, Kenya Community Hospital, October 1, 2011

We are so grateful to all our friends, supporters and teams around the world and wish everyone a fantastic 2012!

Having wrapped up another successful  we want to pause and say a huge THANK YOU to all of you who supported our work in 2011.  You have helped us achieve so much, and we give our deep thanks to everyone for your generosity and support!

In 2011 we..

In Japan, post-earthquake and…

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Voices from the field: Señora Maria

August 03, 2011 - Peru

by Jana Siu

I got to know Señora Maria over her prescribed 5 day course of antibiotics. Everyday she’d shuffle in around 2pm, hand over her prescription and give one large sigh before I gave her an injection into her hip. Afterwards, we’d have a little chat about the importance of getting the whole course of antibiotics. I always fear that patients won’t come back because of the pain. On the contrary, I’ve found the patients here to be very diligent on coming in day after day, whether for an injection or excruciating wound care. When I asked her about this,…

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Voices from the field: Preventative Health Campaign Outreach in Cleto Rojas, Peru

July 26, 2011 - Peru

by Jana Siu

Vicki the pharmacist described to me the neighborhood of Cleto Rojas in San Clemente as rustic. I found “rustic” to be an understatement. This area increased dramatically in size after the earthquake. Houses are constructed of wooden poles and mats of weaved reed stalks as roofs and walls. Plastic sheeting, some that have the emblem of medical relief organizations long gone, insulate these homes. It’s a very dusty, windy, dry part of town. We chose Cleto Rojas as the location to do our preventative health campaign.

Tumbling out of our cramped motos with…

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Voices From The Field: Busy Monday at the Clinic

July 19, 2011 - Peru

by Jana Siu

The guest contributor to our Blog today is Jana Siu, a Registered Nurse from California who has volunteered for us before in India.  Jana is spending time volunteering at our clinic the  “Policlínico Peruano-Americano" in San Clemente, Peru and just sent this first dispatch from the field.

Jana treating patient

by Jana Siu

I was warned about Mondays here at Policlinico Peruano Americano. It’s not even 11am and the patient log is at 62. Out in the crowded waiting room, seated on long wooden benches, there are coughing and crying children, stoic men, breastfeeding mothers and their…

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Inauguration of new clinic location in Peru

March 02, 2011 - Peru

Our clinic has moved to a new building with the sponsorship of the local authorities in San Clemente.  This will new location will cost less for us to rent and manage, and brings us closer in partnership with the local health and political representatives.

Below are a collection of photographs from the official inauguration with the local mayor and other dignitaries present for the ribbon cutting ceremony.  More photos to come as we get settled into our new location.

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Photos from our Christmas Chocolatada party for children in Peru

January 04, 2011 - Peru

In Peru, Christmas is fairly similar to celebrations held in the US and Europe, when many families get together, celebrate and exchange gifts. The well off families generally eat turkey and eat Paneton (a cake/bread filled with fruits) and drink hot chocolate.

In the week preceding Christmas, it is also popular for communities, churches or charity organisations to organize "Chocolatadas" where people who make a Christmas gesture to poor children and families by offering them a cup of hot chocolate, food and perhaps small gifts.

Below are some of the fun photos of the Chocolotada that RMF…

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Last 3 days to give!

December 29, 2010

If you were considering donating to a worthy cause in 2010 and taking advantage of the tax benefits of charitable donations, now is your last chance to contribute!

As we look towards new efforts and projects in 2011 it is only through your generous funding that we will be able to continue our long term development projects in some of the poorest areas on this planet.

As you know, we have set the goal of raising $100,000 by December 31st, and would greatly appreciate if you consider Real Medicine for your year-end donation.

In the spirit of Real Medicine…

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Categories: Armenia Disaster Relief Events Haiti In the news India Indonesia Kenya Los Angeles Mozambique Myanmar Nigeria Pakistan Partners Peru South Sudan Sri Lanka Thank You Uganda Videos Voices from the Field Whole Health or View All
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Hot off the presses: Our 2009/2010 Annual Report!

December 08, 2010

For full PDF version of our report, please click on the link below:

2009/2010 Annual Report

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RMF partners with Peruvian American Medical Society (Spanish text)

September 14, 2010 - Peru

For our Spanish speaking readers, following is a report from our Project Director in Peru, Magali Pujalt, about a free medical outreach clinic that RMF and the Peruvian American Medical Society (PAMS) conducted last month. English version to follow soon.

MISION PAMS 2010

PERUVIAN AMERICAN MEDICAL SOCIETY

POLICLINICO PERUANO AMERICANO

En Pisco se llevo a cabo la misión PAMS 2010, bajo la dirección del Dr. Hugo Tapia ,con voluntarios en especialidades primarias de atención ,también  1 Cirujano el Dr.Rosales,1 Ginecólogo Dr. Vega, 1Pediatra el Dr. Vasquez,1Oftalmologo Dr.…

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Progress in Peru Builds Broader Awareness and Global Connection

June 30, 2010 - Peru

Last week, in an update called “Friends Helping Friends" in San Clemente/Pisco Peru," Steve Henrichon, RMF Director, Peru, touched on an aspect of community that is at the core of Real Medicine—the idea that community is created by working together, friends helping friends. Celebrating recent collaborations benefiting the Policlínico Peruano Americano, his article gives thanks to the partners who sustain us now while providing some perspective as to how far we have come since those first days in Peru back in 2007.

When Steve Henrichon first landed in Pisco with Rene Castillo,…

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Peruvians helping Haitians!

February 24, 2010 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

Its been a while since I have written on the blog.  If you don’t know me, my name is Steve Henrichon and I am the RMF Country Director for Peru.  Things got a little hectic for me this past year as I started my first year of medical school at UC Davis School of Medicine.  Its been a challenge juggling school work and staying involved with RMF and with the clinic in Peru, but now with my first semester behind me, I am finding it easier to balance that which is important to me.  Speaking of balancing my life,…

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RMF Pisco, Peru Now Averages Nearly 70 Patients a Day

September 04, 2009 - Peru

August 2009 By Carly Panchura

The RMF team in Pisco, Peru is busy serving an average of 68 patients a day!

The most common cases in the month of July were Respiratory System Diseases, Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Muscular/Physical Disorders and Injuries, Urological Diseases, and Digestive System Diseases.

The health services provided include: •    Pediatrics •    Adolescent Health •    Women´s Health •    Adult Health •    Geriatric Care •    Pharmacy •    Nursing Station / Triage •    Prevention and Education •    Inhalators •    Ultrasound •    Hematology

In addition to the daily health care…

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Winter Update at RMF Clinic in Pisco, Peru

July 13, 2009 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

Winter has arrived in Pisco, Peru and the clinic team has been busy in the months of May and June. We have maintained an average of 60 patients per day, with the most common cases being respiratory (46), parasitic (12), physical/muscular (10), digestive (7), and skin disorders (6%). As the weather gets colder, we anticipate the percentage of respiratory ailments to increase. To treat patients with respiratory conditions, we make use of nebulizers, suction unit, oxygen tanks, as well as prescription pharmaceuticals & inhalers accessible from our in-house pharmacy.

Our new ultrasound program is…

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Policlinico Peruano Americano, Pisco, Peru – Winter 2009 Update

March 10, 2009 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

The Policlínico Peruano Americano March 7, 2009 By Steve Henrichon

The pace is picking up at the Policlínico Peruano Americano in San Clemente, Pisco, Peru. We have had to make several midstream adjustments to expand our service line and make our services accessible to as many Písquenos as possible. Here is our most recent update:

Patient Flow: We are now seeing 90+ patients per day on average. We have extended the hours and the doctors have really been taken strides to make most efficient use of their time to handle so many patients. Morale amongst…

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Peru – POLICLINICO PERUANO AMERICANO

November 29, 2008

Steve Henrichon

We originally decided on “Clinica de las Americas.” We dropped that name less than one day later when Rosy heard an advertisement on the radio for another “Clinica de las Americas” in Pisco. What are the chances?

We settled on POLICLINICO PERUANO AMERICANO. We threw the “Americano” in there to appeal to those who may be prefer to visit an American sponsored facility for their care, which seems to be most people. The term Policlinico is actually the most descriptive name for our clinic. We are not considered a “clinica.” Peruvians consider a Clinica to…

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Peru – Our new partner NGO??

November 24, 2008 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

We were really hoping that the Dominican Sisters would want to partner with us.  We thought they would do an outstanding job managing our project once we return to the US.  Nina Zully was the sister that was lobbying on our behalf but we had to rely on her to present our case to her superiors.  She took a trip to Cusco to meet with her superiors and we waited patiently for her return.  When she did return, she did not have good news.  They ultimately decided that they did not want to attach their name directly to…

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The Policlínico Peruano Americano

October 08, 2008 - Peru

Steve Henrichon

Spring time is approaching in Peru. The patient stream remains steady at about 30 patients per day and in the month of August we were able to enlist 242 new patients from the community. Females patient still outnumber the males, 2 to 1. In the local school of 3600 children which we sponsor, Nurse Maria Elisa was visited by 442 children. Maria Elisa also conducted many health workshops for the students and their parents. Read more here…

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Press coverage of our Clinic in Peru

April 04, 2008 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

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Peru – Pictures

January 15, 2008 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

I have posted 200 pictures of my experience in Peru on the web.  If you are interested, check out:

http://picasaweb.google.com/shenrichon/SteveHenrichonPiscoPeru

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Peru – Random Thoughts (November – December)

January 15, 2008 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

Scary Missionary: One day I was working in my room/office and I heard there were some American doctors downstairs eating lunch. I went downstairs and introduced myself to this huge group of Americans who I soon learned were not doctors. Instead they are missionaries from some radical sect of Christianity. I explained to them about the clinic and they were really interested. I chatted with the missionaries for about 30 minutes and then I said my goodbyes and excused myself. One of the missionaries got in my face and challenged me. “Have you accepted Jesus Christ into your…

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Peru – No Earthquake, No Money!

January 15, 2008 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

One of the inevitable truths that I have learned through this whole experience is that it usually takes a horrible disaster before changes are made.  In this case, many parts of Pisco were in much need of help even before the earthquake.  Yet it took a deadly earthquake to attract the attention of people and organizations looking to help out.  Now, schools and health centers are being built…health programs are initiated and the people are being cared for.  Many aspects of their social system are being improved better than they ever were even before the earthquake.  They would not…

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Peru – My Apologies

January 15, 2008 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

My apologies. The last time I wrote in the blog was on November 9th. At that time, we were just about to open our temporary clinic at of the catholic parish hall. I had written my blog from my beach side hostel. It is now January 9th…two months later. A lot has happened. I know quite a few people have been following the blog and checking it on a regular basis. If that is the case, you have probably been disappointed when the blog stopped on November 9th right in the thick of things.

You see, processing my…

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Real Medicine Clinic – Peru Photos!

January 02, 2008 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

The inauguration celebration for our new clinic in San Clemente/Pisco, Peru took place on December 10th.

Here are some photos: http://www.galeanet.com/main.php?g2_itemId=283107

Steve Henrichon & Rene Castillo did a fantastic job establishing this clinic in just two months. We had provided medical services out of a temporary facility after the August 15 earthquake. Now, at the permanent clinic, the number of patients per day some days already reaches 70. Patients start lining up at 5am in the morning. San Clemente has about 25,000 inhabitants, almost all of them living in poverty, a big percentage without access to…

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Peru – Rene Gustavo Castillo

December 22, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

It is important for me to give credit where credit is due.  Even though this blog is seen through my eyes and it relates to my experience, it is important to note that this project would not be possible without Rene’s involvement.  For starters, he is fluent in Spanish and he was able to lead all of the meetings and all interactions.  That is just the tip of the iceberg, however.  Rene understands the Latin culture very well.  He commands the respect of everyone he meets whether that be doctors, lawyers, construction workers, priests, etc.  He reads into…

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Peru – First week in New Clinic

December 14, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

One week after our inauguration, Rene and I left for five days.  We thought it best to leave the clinic in Guillermo’s hands so he can begin making his own decisions.  It is our goal for us to be involved in the clinic as little as possible so the clinic can be as self sufficient as possible.  Anyways, we took a 12 hour bus ride to Arequipa.  Arequipa is the gateway to Colca Canyon which is the deepest canyon in the world.  After trekking, camping, mountain biking, and rafting in the canyon, we made our way back to…

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Peru – Inauguration

December 10, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

The inauguration was on December 10th.  The work crew finished just in time and we had a crowd of people working into the night on December 9th to make sure all of the preparations were set.  We even hired an artist to paint the Real Medicine Foundation logo above the front door.  We invited many notable people from San Clemente and the event was also attended by many of the residents as well.  Both Rosy’s mother and Fio’s mother helped by preparing a few hundred hors douvres.  We had a plethora of candy to pass out to the…

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Peru – Gringo Movie Star?

December 08, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

That next day, we took Martina on a tour of San Clemente and Pisco.  Fiorella let us use her car and Rene drove.  Taking a tour through San Clemente is a big eye opener for anyone.  The town is very impoverished.  The majority of the residents live in shacks erected with this special type of siding called caña (sugar cane).  Many of them don’t have water as the town is growing much faster than the infrastructure.  We drove throughout the dusty streets and we stopped at the different Olla Comunes (Communal Kitchens) to spread the word about the inauguration. …

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Peru – Martina’s visit

December 06, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

Martina graced us with her presence on the Friday before the inauguration.  Guillermo and I made the 4 hour bus ride up to Lima to receive Martina at the airport.  This trip to Lima helped me realize just how far I have come with my Spanish in just a couple months.  Guillermo and I conversed in Spanish the entire bus ride and then I took the opportunity to share a little of American culture by treating him to dinner at Tony Roma’s World Famous Ribs in Miraflores.  That evening, we also had a meeting with Jerry Galea and Jesse…

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Peru – Glenda, Good Witch of the South

December 03, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

Ever since the school campaign, we have discussed installing a school nurse at the school who would report to Guillermo. The school has 3600 children. They deserve to have a nurse. In addition to filling a significant void at the school, we are reaching out to the families through their children. It increases our clinic’s exposure. If little Jose is ill and he needs further treatment than what the nurse is able to provide, then she refers him to the clinic.

It was Wednesday. The Director of the school love the idea and he asked when the nurse…

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Peru – Another Trip to Lima?

November 30, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

Since we now moving into a large house, we could take the next step of expanding our services by traveling to Lima for another very lonnnnng day of purchasing medical equipment.  Guillermo and David refined a list of equipment we needed before the trip.  David stayed behind and worked at the clinic while Rene, Guillermo, and I traveled to Lima.  We had a two-page list of equipment we intended to purchase.  We gave copies of the list to several equipment vendors which line the streets on Emancipation Avenue.  This enabled us to compare quotes of individual items so…

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Peru – We found a House!!

November 29, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

We have officially found the permanent site for our clinic.  The search is over!  We decided to leave our first choice (the commercial lot) behind as the owner was very hesitant to show the property to us.  He was not cooperative in the least.  It was never meant to be.  Conversely, Carlos, the owner of the green house, was extremely cooperative and eager to work out a deal with us.  I don’t know where we were led astray to consider the “commercial lot” as our first choice but we quickly realized that this “green house” was by far the…

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Peru – Biologist’s Day!

November 27, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

We arrived at the clinic in the morning and Rosy was not herself.  She seemed very distant and she was fairly unresponsive.  I come to find out that she was mugged on her way to work.  She takes the bus from Ica but she was running a little late.  At the bus stop in San Clemente, she got off the bus and got into a mototaxi.  Mototaxis are little scooters that can cart one or two people around town.  They are very cheap and efficient.  They are personal so when you get into the mototaxi, it does not stop…

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Peru – Guillermo

November 26, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

Our clinical Director has arrived!  Dr. Guillermo relocated to the area from a small mountain town between Cusco and Ayacucho.  Right from the start, it was apparent that Guillermo is a doer.  I mention that we need to get something done and he picks up his cell phone and takes care it right then and there.  We will be transitioning over many of our responsibilities over to Guillermo and start to step back.  Guillermo will also be practicing clinically so that will relieve some of the pressure to see as many people as possible without getting to spend…

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Peru – A Thanksgiving to Remember

November 22, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

Have you ever celebrated Thanksgiving in a foreign country? It is kind of anticlimactic since very few people outside of the US have ever heard of the holiday. Rene and I were set on making this Thanksgiving one to remember. Did we make a huge Turkey day feast complete with turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes and gravy? Nope. That would be too predictable. Instead, we arranged for two “cuy,” a Peruvian delicacy. I’ll give you a hint as to what a cuy is. It is a small rodent, larger than a hamster, a popular domestic pet in the…

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Peru – Fine Tuning

November 21, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

The clinic has been open for 1.5 weeks now.  We had a chance to see the Good Doc in action and now it is time for some refinement of our processes.  Rene and I met with the Good Doc at his new apartment and we had a very effective meeting where we discussed how we can improve the delivery of medicine at the clinic.

Problem 1)  Patient care is be sacrificed in an effort to see more patients.  Does this sound familiar?  While I can’t change the way my primary care physician in the states…

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Peru – School Campaign

November 19, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

On Monday, November 19th we participated in a school campaign. We put a sign up at the clinic which stated we were closed for the day and we moved shop to the grade school in San Clemente. On this project, we worked with Caritas. Caritas provided all of the medicines and we provided the staff. We saw about 45 children during the day. I had a lot of fun with the children and, as always, I am quite a hit with the youngsters. I guess if this whole medical school thing doesn’t work out, I can enjoy a successful…

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Peru – David’s new House

November 18, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

Doctor David is still living in the tent city with the newborn baby.  Living in a Coleman backpacking tent is not a very healthy environment for a 2-week old baby.  It was Martina (our CEO) who didn’t even hesitate before suggesting that we assume the cost for an apartment for a couple months to get the baby out of the cold.  On Sunday, we moved David and his family into a fully furnished apartment in Pisco.

Having the flexibility to offer this option to David and his family made me very proud to be part of Real Medicine. …

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Peru – Meet Dr Dotun Ogunyemi

November 16, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

Meet Dr Dotun Ogunyemi. Dotun is the OBGYN residency director at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles and Associate Professor at UCLA Medical School.  He is also on the RMF advisory board.  Dotun had some time off over Thanksgiving break and he decided to come out and visit our clinic.  I had a mental picture of what I expected Dotun to look like after hearing his thick Nigerian accent on the phone.  I was at the airport in Lima to receive Dotun when he got off the plane.  Shaved head, stylish Randy Jackson-like glasses, Diamond earing, Air Jordans,…

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Peru – Benefit Concert

November 13, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

All weekend, workers were constructing an elaborate stage in the plaza de armas in Pisco. There was a huge concert on Tuesday. The concert was actually held in the national stadium in Lima and it attracted 40,000 concert goers. The live concert was then televised live on huge screens in the plaza de armas of Pisco, Chincha, and Ica. Concert telecommuting! There was also many live acts in each of the cities and the live feed displayed on the huge screens toggled between the four sites.

It was a benefit concert to support education in the south in…

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Peru – Opening of the Clinic

November 12, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

Okay. We are now back in November. We opened the temporary clinic on Monday, November 12th. The idea is to work in a temporary capacity until we have arranged for a permanent location for which to house the clinic. Maybe 3 or 4 weeks. We did not do any advertising because we wanted to grow our patient population organically. This way, the clinical team could refine the processes and get used to the idea of working in a church. On Monday morning, there were just a few people waiting to be seen when we opened the doors at 8am.…

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Peru – You forgot to scrape the seaweed off the wall!

November 10, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

Last Saturday, I accompanied Niña Julia back to her house when she was finished working at the hostel…at 9am. She only lives 2 blocks down the street. She wanted to introduce me to her family and give me a short tour of San Andres. Her family is very hospitable and they made me feel very comfortable. She lives with her parents, Niña Isabel and Don Gilberto, her brothers & their wives, her three children, and several young nieces and nephews. They have an interesting story to tell and Don Gilberto and Niña Isabel were gracious enough to relate their…

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Peru – Long term goal for the clinic

November 10, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

I have been helping to facilitate a collaboration between UCLA and Real Medicine. We have had talks with the department of infectious diseases at UCLA Medical Center about a potential joint collaboration where UCLA medical students, residents, and public health students could travel to third world countries to receive a unique medical experience as part of their education. , there is no such system currently in place at UCLA…but there is certainly a huge interest amongst the students. The Infectious Diseases (ID) department lends itself quite well to international travel so Dr Risa Hoffman and her supervisor Tom Coates…

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Peru – Attack!!

November 10, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

Our computer somehow became infected with spyware. This was one of the most annoying experiences of our trip thus far. The spyware increasingly got worse as I spent many hours trying to remove it. It really started to affect our work because we couldn’t efficiently use the computer. I ran Norton Antivirus, Ad Aware, HiJackThis, and Windows Defender. I even ran all of these programs in Safe Mode. I deleted suspicious files from the registry. I deactivated all startup programs. I purged the internet cache. I swore profusely at the computer. Nothing seemed to work…and the spyware continued to…

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Peru – Outbreak?

November 10, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

We attended a strategic health meeting a few nights ago at the San Juan de Dios Hospital in Pisco. At the meeting were representatives from the organizations involved in Health initiatives in Pisco. The discussion was about three hours and it was hard to concentrate that long. Towards the end of the meeting, an elderly man strolled in and waited for his turn to speak. He introduced himself as a physician in Pisco and he came to let everyone know that he just treated the first case of malaria that Pisco has ever seen. That got everyone’s attention. All…

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Peru – House made of…of…ummm…seashells??

November 10, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

One day last week, we arrived home and Don Jorge and Niña Fanny (owners of the hostel we stay at) were cleaning up rubble. The house next door decided to collapse and when it fell, it knocked down the wall on Don Jorge’s property which fell and destroyed a nearby shed. Luckily nobody was injured. Nobody was living in the house next door because it has been unsafe to live in after the earthquake. We helped dig rubble and salvage anything of value under the rubble. We were searching for buried survivors, only our survivors were hundreds of glass…

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Peru – In the words of Donald Trump…”You’re Fired”

November 10, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

Wow…its been a while since I have written in the blog. Quite a bit has happened since the last time I wrote. I always intend to write but it is difficult to find the time. From the moment I wake up at 7am until the moment I go to bed at midnight (sometimes 3am) I am 100% focused on this project. Sometimes it is hard to squeeze in time for writing. The more experiences we have, the more there is to write about, the harder it is to build up the motivation to write it all down. Anyways, here…

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Peru – Random Thoughts

November 10, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

I have several random thoughts this time around. They have been building up.

Jesús the Dinasour

–I brought over a bag of 12 stuffed animals, of all shapes and sizes, to Niña Julia’s house to give to the 12 children in her family. Each child could take one animal. Josue choose a big brown teddy bear. Then…he found a big pink whale that he liked more so he put the teddy bear back. Then I showed him a dinasour puppet that he fell in love with so he put the whale back. Gilberto chose a huge…

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Peru – Baby without a name

November 10, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

The Doctor’s baby was actually born without a name. They had been thinking of names weeks prior. We helped him brainstorm and we went down the list of our latina lady friends from back home…Alicia, Marissa, Cecilia, Cynthia, Carla, Nazareth, Elia, etc.

We thought nothing of it. Then a couple days after the baby was born, the Good Doctor informed us that he and his wife were going to name their baby Nazareth upon our suggestion. Congrats Nazzy!! There is a 5 day old baby in Perú who shares your name!!

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Peru – Location Update

November 10, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

While the doctor administers healthcare out of the tent, we will continue to finalize plans for a permanent structure to house our clinic. Right now we have two options…that may or may not pan out. The first, our favorite, is centrally located. It is a piece of commercial property…an open lot confined by a huge steel gate. Inside the grounds, there is a two-story modern house which is equipped with water and electricity. This property is currently in escrow and the new owner intends to rent it. He is not able to show it to us until the sale is final which we expect to…

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Peru – RMF Fieldworkers in the Sierra

November 10, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

Along the same lines as Dr Ogunyemi’s visit, Dr Martina Fuchs (Real Medicine CEO) will be traveling to Pisco in early December to visit the clinic, assess the situation, and help implement an outreach program to train field workers in Huancavelica in basic healthcare. Huancavelica is a very remote and mountainous region 3 hours drive from Pisco. It is a very impoverished part of Peru and they currently have little to no healthcare. We have started to design a plan to employ 10 field workers in 10 different communities. We will bring them down to our clinic in Pisco for a 2-day…

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Peru – Starting things off on the right foot

November 10, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

On November 15th, Dr Dotun Ogunyemi is coming down from the US to visit the clinic. Dr Ogunyemi is the OB/GYN Residency Director and Associate OB/GYN Fellowship Director at Cedar’s Sinai Hospital in Beverly Hills…a very prestigious hospital in LA, especially their Maternity program which delivers 7000 babies annually. It has been a lot of work preparing for Dr Ogunyemi’s visit. We have arranged for him to give a 4 hour presentation to the local Peruvian physicians on topics such as AIDS in pregnancy, Obstetric emergencies, Hypertension during pregnancy, and post partum hemorrhaging. We have arranged to use a…

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Peru – Open for Business!!

November 10, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

Regardless of the outcome of a potential partnership with the Sisters, they have graciously offered some space at the parish where we can erect a temporary clinic and begin offering health services. We were given a large tent from Caritas which we will use as an examining room. The tent will actually be set up inside the parish hall which we also have at our disposal. It seems kind of funny to set up a tent inside, but it will provide additional privacy. In the parish hall, we will be setting up a waiting area, Triage service, the examining…

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Peru – Thats our Doc!!

November 10, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

The Good Doctor and his wife, Rosario, have been expecting a baby. They had planned on having the Medicos Cubanos deliver their baby at their hospital encampment. The time came late Monday night. The labor was very quick and there was no time to catch a taxi to the Medicos Cubanos. The Doctor then escorted Rosario back into their little tent and he rolled up his sleeves. Someone held a flashlight over his shoulder while he worked on the delivery. The entire Albergue (tent city) waited patiently outside their tent. The delivery was quick and painless. At 2am on…

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Peru – The Clinical team is taking shape

November 10, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

We have hired our clinical manager. His name is Dr Guillermo Huasasquiche and he was referred to us by his good friend, the Good Doctor David. Dr Guillermo is 31 and he currently manages a group of 5 medical outposts near Cusco. In a few years, he has aspirations to specialize in cardiothoracic surgery. He will be relocating 15 hours to come work at our clinic. We changed our model so that the manager is actually a physician who can spend 50% of his time seeing patients and 50% with administrative work. So we technically have 1.5 physicians…and instead of seeing 24 patients on…

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Peru – This is why we are here!!!

October 26, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

We watched a video last night. Since we were not here to experience the earthquake for ourselves, we will never know exactly what the people have been through. We can see the aftermath and listen to their stories but we will never know what it was like to stagger out of your house and trip over dead bodies in the street. ..or to lose a loved one and have to identify them out of a row of corpses in the town center…or to realize that you baby daughter is no where to be found and chances are that her…

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Peru – Random Thoughts

October 24, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

The thread that binds us all – Most people don’t speak English. I don’t speak much Spanish. A lot of the time, the common thread that bonds us is Rock n Roll. People love Rock n Roll. ACDC, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Nirvana…the list goes on.

A typical conversation usually goes like this:

“¿Conoces Greenday?”

“Si, conozco Greenday.”

“¿Te gusta?”

“Si, me gusta…y tu?”

“Si, me gusta Greenday también.”

Soy El Gringo — Everywhere I walk, I hear “gringo!” or “mira…el gringo.” Much of the younger generation does a double-take when…

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Peru – Tent Clinic in the works

October 24, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

The collective decision has been made to start offering health services out of a tent while we scout the area for possible buildings suitable for our clinic.

We can secure some tents from Caritas. The tents are to be set up in the Plaza de Armas (town center) in front of ACER’s office. The medicine will be locked in the office and the Good Doctor will be able to see patients in the tents. We will also borrow one of the guards from city hall to help with crowd control. It may be a…

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Peru – New Computer

October 22, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

The next couple days were spent working with ACER.

We looked at a couple potential locations, none of which were satisfactory.

We set up a joint bank account and got the ball rolling regarding our permit.

Even though we be working in San Clemente, we decided to stay at Fanny’s hostel in San Andres and make the 15 minute commute every day. We worked out a great deal to rent a room for 1 month. The room even has a high-speed internet hookup so we could set…

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Peru – Beach Clinic??

October 21, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

We had made up our minds to focus our efforts closer to Pisco…and to partner with ACER. After our tour of Chincha, we took the bus back to San Clemente and met with ACER to tell them we would like to proceed with the partnership. We wanted to get this ball rolling as soon as possible because there are many things to be done. Finding a location for the clinic, a permit to offer healthcare in Peru, setting up a bank account, etc.

At this point, we were leaning towards setting up the clinic in San Clemente. If…

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Peru – Karma

October 19, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

Last night was a special night.  Before we turned in for the night, Rene checked his email and there was an email from I girl named Maritza.  In spanish…"You dont know me or my brother but my brother found your little black bag with your pictures, documents, etc.  How can we return your bag to you?"  Rene lit up like a Christmas tree and just started giggling with joy.  He then proceeded to stand up, hum his favorite salsa tune, and then busted out the happy dance.  Ive never seen the kid so happy.

…

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Peru – Random Thoughts

October 18, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

Dust – Everything in Pisco is covered in dust. So much dust has been generated in Pisco due to the many collapsed buidlings. Sometimes when walking around, you find yourself in a haze of dust where your entire surroundings appear cloudy. Its also not very comforting to know that you are breathing the dust. Many people wear a mask over their mouths to fiter the dust. We have been told that many people are suffering from respiratory ailments brought on from the dust and I expect that many cases at our clinic will involve respiratory sicknesses.

…

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Peru – San Clemente

October 18, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

We met with an engineer with ACER who showed us some potential lots in the town of San Clemente which we could use for our clinic. Its looking more likely that we will be setting up shop in San Clemente. This town is about 6 km from Pisco along the major coastal road. They were very affected by the earthquake and it is actually a more impoverished area than Pisco. 25 thousand people reside in San Clemente and the area is growing rapidly. They are very much in need of healthcare. San Clemente can be easily accessed by residents…

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Peru – Distribution

October 17, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

Yesterday morning, we participated in a distribution.  Tzu Chi had plans to distribute a 110 lb sack of rice, mattress, bag of beans, blanket, and cooking oil to each of the the 2000 families that live in the San Andreas district of Pisco.  It is more manageable to help everyone in a single designated area versus helping a few people all over town (and riots can be avoided).

We left at 6am on the bus with 40 uniformed Tzu Chi volunteers from Taiwan, US, Peru, Paraguay, and Argentina.  The distribution took place at a fish…

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Peru – Funding

October 15, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

I forgot to mention that Martina was able to secure $75,000 from Merck for our project!  That is excellent news.  Thanks Merck!

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Peru – 1st week in Peru

October 12, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

My name is Steve Henrichon. I am in Peru right now with Rene Castillo and are working to open a free medical clinic in response to Peru´s 8.0 earthquake on August 15. Reports indicate that close to 1000 people have died, many more injured, 40,000 families left homeless, and many thousands of buidlings and infrastructure destroyed in the Ica region. The epicenter was in Pisco and the surrounding towns of Ica, Canete, and Chincha were also affected.

I was a bit anxious before leaving for Peru because I didnt really know what to encounter. We had a plan…

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Real Medicine Hospital – Peru

August 25, 2007 - Peru

by Steve Henrichon

These are some pictures of the Peruvian Show for the Children Hospital, when they have the Christmas Party. I donate part of the Toys and last year I personally went with 2 assistants of the Director to by the Toys for the Children, you have no idea, one toy to these poor children bring them a lot of happiness and smiles. Read on…

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