The February 2023 clinic trip took place February 18 at Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos. This month our staff included general medicine, dentist, dental hygienists, chiropractors, optometrist, eyeglass fitting, interpreters and a pharmacist. All told, 193 services were provided. The volunteers were busy.
Charlie Brown and Larry Karpurk flew direct to Lopez on Friday. Randy Caves, Ted Lipinski and Paul Rowley flew to Mulegé. Erika Sales, Charlie and Larry worked until evening getting the clinic set up for the next day. Fixing and reinstalling toilets (in the outside area) using flashlights is now an experience that Charlie and Larry can add to their resumes. Ted Lipinski also contributed to clinic maintenance on Saturday by painting the outside bathroom doors and the door to the vacuum/compressor room.
Erika and Judith organized and distributed the patient numbers in order to get a head start on triage. Triage was artfully managed with the efforts of Judy Chang and Argelis Maldonado, a new volunteer, along with his wife, Lisette who interpreted for Gene and Neta Kimmel.
We were fortunate to have a dentist, Jack Lipton, and three dental hygienists, Erika, Shelly Collins and Theresa Temarantz. Derek Sales saw many patients for general medicine with the help of interpreter Anna Torres. Nick Tex was his usual efficient self dispensing 42 prescriptions. Scott Farrell provided eye exams and glasses. Tara Lashkari, an optical technician, comes clear from Canada to help us out.
Our local contacts provide invaluable help, Judith Logan and Oliver Collins along with Andrea and Guillermo who supply our tasty lunches.
I mentioned clinic repairs and maintenance earlier in this report. These are ongoing expenses. We also purchase medications and medical equipment to help in providing quality levels of service. Donations to the Flying Samaritans Phoenix Chapter are always appreciated. We are a non profit, charitable organization. Even renewing memberships is helpful whether you can schedule a clinic trip or not.
I sign off with a sincere thank you to all of the volunteers who helped make the February clinic a success.
Bonnie Lassen