Medical, Surgical and Dental Mission at Las Navas, Northern Samar

The mission was held at the Brgy. Quirino Elementary School grounds, Las Navas, Northern Samar last May 9-12, 2012.

   Last May 9-12, 2012, the Health Empowerment and Action in Leyte and Samar, Inc. (HEALS, Inc.), together with its partner NGO, the Leyte Center for Development, Inc. (LCDE) successfully conducted a Relief Operation and Medical, Surgical and Dental Mission at Brgy. San Miguel and Qurino, Las Navas, Northern Samar. 

       The activity started even before the scheduled actual medical mission with medical rounds last April 30, May 1 and May 3-4, 2012, in Brgys. Imelda, San Francisco and San Miguel of the town of Las Navas, Northern Samar. These are three of the beneficiary-barangays and were visited to be able to give free medical services to patients physically incapable of going during the actual medical mission.  

                                            

      During the said activities, we were able to accompany two Belgian medical students, Stefanie and Eva,  who were on their community medicine internship with HEALS and were able to expose them to the sad reality of dismal health services in the countryside.

            The Kilinkang Bayan offered medical, dental and surgical services to nine barangays of the towns of Las Navas and Catubig, Northern Samar. 

       

       The total number of patients served was around 1,450, 965 of them were served thru free medical consultations, 45 with free surgical services, around 200 with free circumcision services and around 290 with free dental services, most of them have availed of free medicines. 

       In addition, we were able to give short courses on common signs and symptoms, common diseases and their first line treatment, the use of herbal medicines, the judicious use of over-the-counter, western medicines as well as optimized our time by giving health inputs and short training on the taking of vital signs by community health workers in the barangays served. 

         As the first medical professionals to have gone to the area, we are confident that not only have we been able to give medical services that are deemed dole out at best in most medical missions, but that we have established long term effects in the communities in the form of capacity-building, confidence-uplifting health services that would serve the constituents of the beneficiary-barangays still in the days to come.




* Picture credits due to Stefanie Johanns of Belgium. Thanks.