Peru

The RMF Clinic in Peru officially opened for business on November 12, just one month since our small team arrived in Peru. The clinic is currently operating in a temporary capacity in the parish hall at the Catholic Church in San Clemente. While health services are being administered from the Church, we are busily searching the area for a permanent edifice to house the clinic. There are a few locations in the pipeline that have potential to serve as the permanent clinic. We are currently employing four people at the RMF clinic: physician, nurse, pharmacist, and night guard. The temporary clinic consists of a triage, examining room, and pharmacy. The clinic hours are from 8am-3pm, Monday – Friday. In the first week (ending on Nov 16), 168 patients of all ages were treated by Dr David Torrealva. The most numerable cases treated include respiratory related infections (57 cases), urinary tract infections (35), aches/pains (24), skin allergies/infections (11), and intestinal infections (8). There has been an influx of respiratory ailments and skin disorders throughout Pisco following the earthquake, which can be attributed to the large amounts of newly created dust in the air from several thousand collapsed buildings.

To accompany the opening of the clinic, we have taken the initiative to announce our presence in the community by sponsoring various events. On Saturday, November 17, we sponsored two workshops in the community, administered by RMF Advisory Board Member, Dr Dotun Ogunyemi (OB/GYN Residency Director Cedars Sinai Hospital, OB/GYN Associate Professor UCLA). Dr Ogunyemi presented to a group of 16 local Peruvian physicians on such topics as Hypertension in Pregnancy, Post Partum Hemorrhaging, and especially HIV Transmission in Pregnancy, an important topic few physicians are familiar with in the area. This event helped identify the RMF Clinic as a leader in the medical community.

The second workshop, also administered by Dr Ogunyemi, targeted pregnant women in the community. Dr Ogunyemi discussed many facets of normal pregnancy, complications in pregnancy, STDs, and cancer prevention. 13 women attended the workshop and it was very interactive and well-received. We marketed the opening of the RMF clinic and the Community Pregnancy workshop by A) visiting 20 communal kitchens which directly feed the entire community of San Clemente and B) by introducing the RMF clinic on a local Television talk show for 15 minutes.

In addition, the RMF clinic team participated in a medical campaign on Monday, Nov 19, at the local school in San Clemente (3600 students). Services were offered out of a classroom and approximately 45 children were seen and treated. The school cannot afford a school nurse and we are currently making preliminary plans to staff the school with a nurse.

Upcoming:

• November 25 marks the arrival of our newly hired Clinical Manager to the area, Dr Guillermo Huasasquiche.
• Preliminary plans are being made to train 10 field workers, from the very impoverished mountain state of Huancavelica, in basic healthcare. The field workers will serve the basic health needs of their community and identify those cases which need further treatment.
• Dr Martina Fuchs, RMF CEO, is visiting the clinic from Dec 6 – Dec 12.

Plans have been made to sponsor two HIV/AIDS workshops in late January: one for local Physicians and another for patients infected with HIV. The workshops will be administered by our friends from the UCLA Medical Center department of Infectious Diseases – Peru team.