Photo By Capt. Kali Gradishar | Juan Ishim, Santa Theresa community health worker, right, assists with translation...... read more read more
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PUNTA GORDA, Belize - A vast team of health care workers, educators, nurses and doctors joined together to provide free medical care and health education to Belizeans April 28 through May 9.
Belizean health care providers worked side-by-side with Canadian and U.S. military medical counterparts during the medical readiness training exercises, or MEDRETEs, that offered general medicine, dental, optometric and women's health care.
"I like the way how it's distributed. It's not only in one place," said Dr. Celina Stokes, medical coordinator at the Isabel Palma Polyclinic in San Antonio and the overseer of the Santa Theresa satellite clinic in Santa Theresa in Belize. "We are reaching from Dolores to Jalacte."
MEDRETEs were held in the San Antonio polyclinic, at the Santa Theresa satellite clinic, and in the remote villages of Dolores, Blue Creek and Jalacte. For New Horizons Belize 2013, the reach did not extend quite as far into the remote villages in the country.
"Every year, we can see how we can improve and learn from each time," said Stokes. This time, we were more organized and involved more people to include the community health educators, the clinic caretakers, the data entry clerks, the rural health nurse and the doctors.
While the team provided free care to Belizeans, they also had an opportunity to interact with their international counterparts within their professional fields.
"I'm learning lots of different things every day," said Canadian Master Cpl. Sebastien Lepage, medical technician deployed from the 16th Field Ambulance in Saskatchewan, Canada. "I'm learning a lot more outside of my scope than I'm used to."
"I'm loving it," he added.
In addition to learning new skills, meeting new people and furthering one's personal experiences, many on the New Horizons medical team are finding great satisfaction in their work in Belize.
"This is why we decide to get into this field - to help people," said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Steven Acevedo, New Horizons onsite team lead for one of the two MEDRETE groups. "It's very, very satisfying."
| Date Taken: | 05.07.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 05.08.2014 17:52 |
| Story ID: | 129225 |
| Location: | PUNTA GORDA, BZ |
| Web Views: | 132 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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