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A Poor Healthcare Center in Peru

Imagine working as a doctor: a patient just arrived for an emergency, and you go to wash your hands only to find there is no running water. You have to walk over to the nearest market’s dirty bathroom just for basic sanitation. I saw problems like this while studying [SM1] abroad and volunteering in a healthcare center in Cusco, called Centro de Salud Santa Rosa. For an entire week, they lacked running water because water is so scarce and the government had not yet paid for it. Seeing this problem, among countless others, I could only think, “Why can’t we do something to fix these simple issues?”

My name is Silvio Martinez and I am a Public Health major at the University of Florida, aiming to go to medical school and work with Doctors without Borders. I have volunteered extensively with the homeless, for needy causes at my church, and at a clinic for the underserved, and this service-learning experience has strengthened my passion for helping those less fortunate. I was inspired by Santa Rosa’s healthcare staff; despite their lack of resources and money, they worked hard to treat the hundreds of daily patients. I am determined to help Santa Rosa healthcare center not only because they are in dire need but also because their perseverance in the midst of adversity is admirable, and our small donations can have a tremendous impact on their clinic.

While volunteering, I truly learned the definition of a needy clinic. Santa Rosa is sustained purely by donations—they receive less than $1000 annually to pay for new medical supplies. The Obstetrics unit (care for pregnant women) shares one Doppler between 3 rooms, the entire 4-story building has only one computer with wifi, they have only 2 scales (one of which is cracked and almost unreadable), and their tables and chairs look like they are about to crack and break from old age. One nurse told me about a male technician who had a heart attack in Santa Rosa and died due to a simple lack of medical equipment. They were in need of an oxygen tank to sustain him for the long ride to the hospital, but because they lacked a simple oxygen mask, the nurse helplessly watched the man die on the way. Sometimes, having access to simple resources can make the difference between a patient’s life and death. This is why it is so essential to help them today.

Despite their obstacles, the healthcare staff at Santa Rosa treated their patients to the best of their ability. They may not have prepared gauze, but they ask volunteers to fold gauze so they can treat emergency injuries. They lack scales, but they take time to lead their patients down to the first floor where they can weigh them. Dr. Gehu jokes with his patients, making their children laugh, and he emphasized the importance of treating your patients as friends. Elena, an obstetrician, walks out into the community to treat poor pregnant women, and she even stops pregnant women on the street to ask about their health and next appointments. The workers are genuinely concerned for their patients and love to help them, an example to me as a future physician.

Coming from a nation of great opportunity and education, I feel that I and all Americans have a chance to greatly help this poor clinic today. While volunteering there, I have seen the impacts one can make. The few scales, blood pressure monitors, and Dopplers they have are all donated from local businesses--their budget is not enough to buy their own medical supplies, which require replacement immediately. We can all help Santa Rosa through small donations: just $100 can provide a blood pressure monitor, 2 scales, 200 gauze pads, soap, and 100 gloves. Just 100 American dollars is an enormous quantity for them, considering that a typical physician makes only $70 per day.

Just $10 donations from 150 people would help me reach my $1,500 goal, which would give Santa Rosa’s staff all of the supplies listed below. So please don’t be hesitant about small donations, they are the difference makers! Whether you can or cannot donate, please help spread the word to friends and family. I am so thankful for your donations and support.

Most importantly, I hope you gained some insight into the great adversity developing countries face in healthcare, and how these staff work with what they have to the best of their ability.  Dr. Gehu fights to treat his patients in “the most destitute healthcare clinic he has ever worked in,” yet he constantly adapts to give his patients an effective treatment. A little donation for Santa Rosa makes a world of a difference as it makes the doctor’s job easier and can even help save someone’s life.

To get a better idea about where your donations are going, here are the supplies I will buy for Santa Rosa through Amazon: 3 electronic blood pressure monitors ($149.55), 5 oxygen masks ($24.95), 2 Doppler baby heart monitors ($137.60), 5 weight scales ($75.71), 1000 gauze pads ($27.30), 6 bottles of hand soap ($13.50), 1000 disposable gloves ($94.90), 2 footstools for obstetric patients ($52.62), 12 notebooks ($22.60), 50,000 staples ($6.68), 60 pens ($3.50) and 4 baby blankets ($10.99). The rest of the money would go to additional medical supplies and shipping, so this amounts to about $1500.
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Donations 

  • George Mason
    • $430 
    • 7 yrs
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Organizer

Silvio Daniel Martinez
Organizer

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