Beyond Medicine
Submitted by lmcnulty08 on Sun, 04/26/2009 - 23:10.
Last updated on Sat, 08/22/2009 - 21:18.
Vital Stats
ongoing project
People Impacted:
900People Involved: 30
Project Video
The Problem
In the Puerto Plata province of the DR, thousands of Dominicans and Haitians live in poverty without access to health care, adequate nutrition and housing, social services, or economic opportunity. Having participated in several week-long medical relief trips to this region, we have experienced the challenges of addressing long-term health and social problems using short-term interventions.
Our medical relief trips allow individuals to access health care, medicine, hygiene supplies, and for a few critically ill patients, funding for further care. By partnering with Crossroads, a NGO that serves 14 villages in the Dominican northwest, we are able to visit these communities and connect with people in need. But, after each trip, we always wonder: what will happen to the patients we saw? Will they visit Crossroads’ medical clinic as suggested? Will they be able to follow the doctors’ prescriptions? How can we help them avoid infections, injuries, and disease in the first place? How can we support and empower them to live healthy, full lives with their families and community?
Our project will work to resolve these issues by developing cross-national partnerships between communities with a common goal: supporting sustainable health care delivery and empowering communities to achieve well-being. We will address a lack of continuity of care; gather data to inform the creation of more effective medical relief trips; and implement community-based solutions to improve long-term health.
Our medical relief trips allow individuals to access health care, medicine, hygiene supplies, and for a few critically ill patients, funding for further care. By partnering with Crossroads, a NGO that serves 14 villages in the Dominican northwest, we are able to visit these communities and connect with people in need. But, after each trip, we always wonder: what will happen to the patients we saw? Will they visit Crossroads’ medical clinic as suggested? Will they be able to follow the doctors’ prescriptions? How can we help them avoid infections, injuries, and disease in the first place? How can we support and empower them to live healthy, full lives with their families and community?
Our project will work to resolve these issues by developing cross-national partnerships between communities with a common goal: supporting sustainable health care delivery and empowering communities to achieve well-being. We will address a lack of continuity of care; gather data to inform the creation of more effective medical relief trips; and implement community-based solutions to improve long-term health.
Why It's Important
Our medical relief trips have shown us a piece of our world’s great diversity, and also the connections this diversity allows. The families in remote Dominican villages, doctors who offer their time and knowledge, and student volunteers all come from unique backgrounds and are brought together to share their skills, resources, and visions. For us, these opportunities have not only introduced us to many wonderful people, but also highlighted serious disparities and injustices that we refuse to ignore. We believe we are all part of one global community, and there must be action across these borders.
Now is the opportune time to begin this project. The Health Horizons International Foundation (HHI) was recently created to support medical relief trips partnered with Crossroads, and to explore sustainable models of health care delivery in the village communities. The three of us are charged with leading significant components of this mission. We believe strongly that health encompasses physical, social, emotional, and mental well-being, and we are passionate about ensuring that HHI serves as a means to improving each of these components. Additionally, we understand that the problems faced by communities in the Dominican Republic cannot be addressed by one person alone, and solutions cannot be sustained without the community’s involvement in the process. Our project is therefore based in the idea that there is truly power in numbers.
Now is the opportune time to begin this project. The Health Horizons International Foundation (HHI) was recently created to support medical relief trips partnered with Crossroads, and to explore sustainable models of health care delivery in the village communities. The three of us are charged with leading significant components of this mission. We believe strongly that health encompasses physical, social, emotional, and mental well-being, and we are passionate about ensuring that HHI serves as a means to improving each of these components. Additionally, we understand that the problems faced by communities in the Dominican Republic cannot be addressed by one person alone, and solutions cannot be sustained without the community’s involvement in the process. Our project is therefore based in the idea that there is truly power in numbers.
The Plan Of Action
In fall 2009, 25 students from the Community Health program at Tufts University, the Physician Assistant graduate program at Quinnipiac, and the Family Medicine residency program at the UConn, will be recruited for HHI’s January 2010 medical trip. Led by a team member, these students will work together to fundraise and collect donations.
Also in fall 2009, two team members will begin a nine-month stay in the DR, where they will explore the means of making HHI’s medical work sustainable. They will survey local leaders and community members to gauge the aftermath and success of past medical trips, and to understand their thoughts on how trips can be improved. Using the information gathered, the students from each school will develop plans for addressing the pressing health needs of the communities and the public health factors that affect well-being. The team members working in the villages will use the information to lay the groundwork for more effective medical relief trips, implement disease prevention programs to proactively address identified health needs, and identify community members who will continue to partner with HHI’s programs.
During the trip, we will set up clinics in different villages each day. We will aim to treat 900 patients, implement a community health intervention, and continue to assess health needs. The team members in the DR will be responsible for following up with patients and reporting on outcomes.
Also in fall 2009, two team members will begin a nine-month stay in the DR, where they will explore the means of making HHI’s medical work sustainable. They will survey local leaders and community members to gauge the aftermath and success of past medical trips, and to understand their thoughts on how trips can be improved. Using the information gathered, the students from each school will develop plans for addressing the pressing health needs of the communities and the public health factors that affect well-being. The team members working in the villages will use the information to lay the groundwork for more effective medical relief trips, implement disease prevention programs to proactively address identified health needs, and identify community members who will continue to partner with HHI’s programs.
During the trip, we will set up clinics in different villages each day. We will aim to treat 900 patients, implement a community health intervention, and continue to assess health needs. The team members in the DR will be responsible for following up with patients and reporting on outcomes.
How Can Others Get Involved?
While we must limit trip member recruitment to specific universities at this point, we hope to engage a wider community in addressing the issues faced by people in the Dominican Republic. We encourage those who are interested in supporting HHI to contact us, as we are actively collecting donations of medical supplies, first-aid supplies, medications, hospital equipment, and financial support for the trips and the on-the-ground presence. We also welcome feedback and advice about our plans. We hope to learn from others' experiences in order to make our project as effective as possible.
Project Updates
04/26/09
Update: We were recently notified that, after two weeks of reaching out to friends, family, professors, and colleagues to encourage them to vote, our project was selected as one of five Do Something Power In Numbers grant recipients! This $10,000 award will enable us to get our ideas off the ground - and our work is certainly cut out for us. We were amazed and humbled by the incredible outpouring of support that everyone showed for our project, and we are extremely excited to continue sharing our plans and progress. ~Laura, Angi, and Raquel
08/22/09
Update: The last few months have seen many positive developments for Health Horizons International, set in motion both by the Do Something Power In Numbers grant and by the encouragement and support of those dedicated to HHI’s cause.
International Project Development:
With the guidance of many generous individuals who have shared their expertise, knowledge, and advice, Angi and I have continued to develop our objectives and methods for our time in the Dominican Republic. As our overall goal is to improve community health through coordinating medical service trips with locally-based health initiatives, we will be taking a very collaborative approach to implementing our projects, and will engage in regular evaluation and re-assessment of our effectiveness. We plan to approach the goal of health promotion in several ways, including disease prevention initiatives, community health worker education programs, focus groups on the successes and challenges of medical service trips, partnership building with other health-oriented organizations, and infrastructure development to increase the capacity of local health care. Our proposal has been approved by Dr. Bob Amelingmeier, the medical director of Crossroads, and we hope to hit the ground running when we arrive in the Dominican Republic – we officially have one-way tickets for October 1st!
Board of Directors:
We have held two productive and motivating Board meetings to discuss Health Horizons International’s mission and vision, strategize about our long- and short-term plans, and set concrete tasks and goals for moving forward. Led by Dr. Craig Czarsty, HHI’s Board Chair, we have made progress towards becoming a recognized 501(c)3 non-profit, creating a website, establishing formal partnerships with Quinnipiac University’s Physician Assistant graduate program and the University of Connecticut’s Family Medicine Residency program, and preparing for at least three medical service trips in the 2009-2010 academic year. In addition to the Board meetings, we have been in constant communication through (quite literally) hundreds of emails to coordinate and accomplish the logistics of effectively starting this new organization.
Medical Service Trip Development:
We have also established a partnership with the Community Health Program at Tufts, and are designing an academic course that will culminate in HHI’s medical service trip in January 2010. We recently accepted eight exceptional students out of a competitive applicant pool to participate in this brand new program. Raquel is already hard at work developing a strong curriculum for the fall semester, in collaboration with Tufts CHP professors Edith Balbach, Kevin Irwin, and Linda Sprague-Martinez. Students will learn about methods of community health research and intervention, as well as the social, economic, historical, and cultural context of the Dominican Republic. Using current research on best practices in health promotion, in addition to the data that Angi and I will gather about the needs of the communities in Puerto Plata, they will develop a project to be implemented in conjunction with their participation on the January trip.
Looking forward, the rest of August and September will be focused on logistical preparations for Angi's and my move to the DR, getting the CHP course up and running, and engaging in fundraising efforts. More updates to come!
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