HBI - Updates from January and February

Arequipa Connect Conference – A New Coalition: The inaugural Health Bridges International and Medical Ministry International Arequipa Connect Conference was a huge success. Participants from over 25 agencies and organizations attended the 2-day event whose focus was the creation of collaborative coalition for sharing resources, ideas and expertise. The coalition that developed from the meeting, Groupo Connectado Arequipa (GCA)" convened their first formal meeting on 09 February 2009. The next steps for forming the coalition will be firmly in the domain of the newly developed GCA and will more than likely take shape in the next couple of months. HBI and MMI will continue to provide technical support with help in meeting facilitation and oversight in the development of an on-line communication tool (Mr. Daniel Bachhuber has graciously offered to spearhead this project); but the new coalition strongly belongs to its new member constituents.One thing is for certain - when you put a group of spirited, passionate and creative people into a room together for two days . . . GREAT things happen. Stay tuned to the HBI BlogSpot for ongoing updates about the new Groupo Connectado Arequipa coalition and their burgeoning process of development.HBI is proud to have partnered with MMI on this historic event. We look forward to future conferences that work to create bridges between groups and organizations bringing desperately needed health and social services to the poor.

Carabayllo Outreach Clinic: The January outreach and community assessment campaign in Carabayllo was an extension of our on-going work in the Jovencito of Valle Sagrado. The purpose of the outreach campaign to Carabayllo (in the Northern Cone district of Lima – a sprawling peri-urban slum of over 1.5 million) was not to deliver medical and dental care, but to support the development of a sustainable outreach project to the area through a collaboration with the Anglican Church of Peru’s non-governmental health care outreach program. The HBI team (made up of four physicians, one dentist, two dental students, two nurses and a social worker spent an afternoon surveying the needs of the community through an administered questionnaire and through observational evaluations obtained by the team during our small clinic outreach.

In just 5 hours of clinic, our team administered over 20 comprehensive surveys, attended to 87 patients seeking medical care and 18 patients for dental care. By the end of the next day, we had met with a representative from the Anglican Church of Peru to present the data we collected in our assessment survey. The numbers spoke for themselves - many of the respondents described incomes at less than 300 soles (approximately $100) per month; and this is for a family of 5. Additional data revealed the depth of poverty enveloping the community: of the 20 respondents not a single family has access to indoor plumbing or water, many of families described 6 or 7 day work weeks with 12-hour days for little more than 15 Soles ($5 USD), most of the families surveyed said that they knew “where” to get medical and dental care – but could not afford the cost of transport and prescription medications. The most revealing data we retrieved pointed to a barrier that few studies have discussed – transportation and cost of prescription medication.

The goal of HBI is to help develop a collaborative response to the extreme poverty of Carabayllo and to begin to build the bridges that will allow all of the children of Valle Sagrado the opportunities of education, healthcare, and the unlimited hopes of tomorrow. Through our partnership with the Anglican Church of Peru – we are well on our way to making this goal a reality.

University of North Carolina Wilmington CARE Research Study: In early March, HBI and UNCW will be partnering on a community assessment research study in the Alto Cayma communities. The Community Assessment of Resources and Healthcare Experiences (CARE) is a cross-sectional survey study was designed to evaluate healthcare access and utilization patterns as well as objective and subjective barriers to healthcare in a series of peri-urban squatter communities outside of Arequipa, Peru.

More specifically, the survey will gain information regarding perceived access to healthcare, awareness of area clinics and charity care resources, emergency department use, and perception of their own health, including medical, dental and mental health issues. The Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved survey will also evaluate participants’ feelings on the medical care and treatment they are provided. In gathering this information HBI and UNCW hope to better understand the behaviors of our study population, so we can, in response, craft interventions to provide the people of the Alto Cayma Communities with expanded and appropriate primary care. You can stay up to date on the progress of this study through the HBI BlogSpot.

Help from Affinity Health System: A team from Affinity Health System in Menasha, Wisconsin was recently (February) in Alto Cayma. HBI helped to organize the event coordinated by our own Dr. Bob Gehringer. The team, a group whose purpose was to act as an evaluation team, used their week-long stay to the fullest – visiting the mountains, incorporating into the various activities of the Mission and helping to conduct roundtable evaluations and focus groups.

The group came away from their experience with a number of wonderful ideas on how to enhance an on-going relationship between the staff of Affinity and the Mission of Alto Cayma. Future collaboration may include: helping to incorporate an Electronic Medical Records system into the Alto Cayma Clinic, bringing specialty care teams down to Arequipa to help training healthcare providers, and working to bring greater recognition and understanding of the needs of the people of Alto Cayma to the staff and consumers of the Affinity System.

Help Fund Alto Cayma Healthcare Conference and Training Symposium: In April HBI will be producing the Second Annual Alto Cayma Healthcare Conference and Training Symposium. This year’s event will include two separate tracks of training – one for physicians and one for nurses and mid-level providers.

The goal of the event is to help to train the care providers working with the poor of the Alto Cayma communities and to attract new Peruvian professionals interested in volunteering in the Alto Cayma Mission Clinic. Invitations will be sent out to 100 providers – making this year’s conference a significantly larger event. We are fortunate to have a team of seasoned presenters from the Affinity Health System and from the University of North Carolina nursing program. The emphasis on the Second Annual event will be teaching evidence based skills that can be applied in everyday patient care. If you would like to help fund this event click here to donate HBI website.

Team Peru 2009: The HBI Team Peru Outreach trip is in full swing to recruit team participants. Our team leaves for a 2-week campaign on June 30. If you are interested in joining the Team Peru trip – please get your applilcation in as soon as possible. The details for the trip are being arranged and there is a need for a definite count of participants.