Clinic Developments in Peralta

We have more exciting news from Peralta as the agreement between the Dominican Ministry of Health and the clinic as resulted in the hiring of a physician, nurse and community healthcare workers.  Medicine will be arriving shortly as well.

On our recent trip, we had the opportunity to work alongside the new physician, Dr. Amada, who originates from Peralta. The Ministry’s official recognition of the Peralta clinic allowed her to return and work in her community.  The health care workers are also members of the community, such as Onassis, who has worked with the volunteer teams for years.  It’s been wonderful for the clinic to be able to employ locally.

We saw approximately 500 patients during out trip. Now that Dr. Amada is full-time, we hope to set up a telemedicine system where we can communicate with her in real-time, year-round to answer any questions or consult on cases. Additionally, we began research to study the effects of HTN on hearts, through the use of echo and EKG.  By drawing comparisons of rates of high blood pressure in the US, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, we hope to determine the factors contributing to this risk

The water business is still running smoothly. Over 14,500 5-liter bottles are sold per month.  The sales support the 20 families that work as water distribution point agents.  Recently, when the water system for the community faltered, the families provided non-potable water at no charge until it was fixed.

With each step, the Peralta clinic has gotten closer to becoming a self-sustaining system in which we are no longer needed.  As we wind down our primary care work there, we’re working with our local partners to assess new, potential communities to serve.  Stay tuned for more updates.

Sincerely,

Dr. Babs Waldman