Peru

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 Pesquenos 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 the team is high and everyone is excited about the clinic's success and new equipment to help improve delivery of care.

Equipment: We have received and installed all of the equipment from the Direct Relief International equipment grant. With this money, we have been able to purchase an ultrasound machine, hospitalization bed, suction unit, pulse oximeter, oxygen tanks, medicine cabinets, autoclave, etc.

To help protect these investments, we have also increased security measures at the clinic by closing up open spaces, reinforcing outside doors and windows, and reinforcing inside doors/windows to the office in which the ultrasound unit is kept.

For more photos of the equipment purchase and security upgrade, please see gallery below.

Consultation Fee: On March 1st, we instituted a symbolic 1 Peru Nuevos Soles (PEN) fee per consultation as an experiment. Our goal is to find a way to keep our clinic operations sustainable, to create a partnership in health with the patients at our clinic and allow them to take co-responsibility for their health and wellbeing, and ultimately make them self-sufficient and independent of our support. At 90 patients per day, this money will also  to a small degree  help subsidize the increased medicine costs. In certain cases where the patients are in desperate financial need, the consultation fee will of course be waived. We do not anticipate that this fee will prevent anyone who needs treatment from actually receiving it, although it may prevent people from abusing the free nature of the clinic.

Ultrasound Fee: We are planning to charge S/15 for each ultrasound procedure. We are receiving referrals from the other clinics and the hospital in Pisco. This fee will also go towards subsidizing ultrasound services for those patients who cannot afford such a fee.

RMF Campaigns: We continue to perform RMF Campaigns. Most recently, we participated in a campaign (with other health providers) aimed at increasing health education and prevention in the community.

Additional Equipment Photos: