Saturday, May 26, 2012

Thank you to our supply donors!!!

This post is to thank those who have contributed medical supplies for our upcoming trip.  We also have many generous people who donated money via our Christmas card campaign -- and that "thank you" list will be posted next.  The money that was donated will go directly to follow-up care for women needing treatment for any abnormal pap smears and further medical needs.  The medical supplies are being directly transported down to Honduras for us to distribute to the women and use to fully stock and run the clinics in Madrigales and Los Torreros.  So THANK YOU so much to the following generous supply donors!  We couldn't have done it without you!

UNC Chapel Hill Campus Health Services
Dr. Melanie Mintzer with Generations Family Practice
Sam Hawes of the Office of International Activities at UNC School of Medicine
MedWorld
Adam&Eve
Moses Cone Hospital
Bruce Alexander
Mary Simpkins

THANK YOU!

In the final month before our trip, we are hoping to gather just a few more items! Please email hha.leader@gmail.com if you or anyone you may know would be able to donate any of the following supplies!



200 urinalysis strips
95 cytobrushes
55 spatulas
3 chucks
2 metal sounds
 
Again, thank you to those who have helped us so far!  Please continue to follow us for more updates.

HHA Potluck and Orientation

Last week, all of the HHA participants got together to formally meet, distribute supplies, and receive our assignments for our community locations.  The mix of rising MS2's, rising MS4's, public health students, and attendings/residents made for an excellent group of people and a fantastic meal!

Food and conversation!
 The medical supplies that we have been gathering over the past few months were divided into five different suitcases for HHA volunteers to check through as baggage to Honduras.  We also received the details on the communities we will be serving in-country as well.

The first two days will be spent preparing our "charlas" -- our health education talks that we will present to the women.  The following three days, we split into pairs and hike, bus, or ride horses to rural communities where we will stay for several nights in hammocks and work with the local women during the day.  The charlas are given in an effort to both educate the women of the community on cervical cancer, reproductive health, birth control methods, etcetera.  We then encourage the women to come down to Madrigales, where we will hold a four-day clinic--offering pap smears, general pelvic exams, IUD placements, and additional women's health counseling services.

The community assignments include the following areas: Guasaule, Guanacaste, Papalon, Espaveles, Portreritos, and Los Torreros.  Los Torreros is the furthest away from the town of Madrigales, and in past years the women have had a challenging time making their way down to the clinic.  This year we will be holding an additional two-day clinic in Los Torreros so that all the women who live further away will have similar access to the medical services.

Everyone is getting so excited! We are exactly one month out! Woohoo! Stay tuned! 
    

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Follow us! Summer 2012

Welcome!  The first-year students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine are beginning a blog to keep family, friends, and donors up-to-date on the projects that the Honduran Health Alliance will be completing this year!  Every summer a group of students are selected to travel with several physicians, public health students, and third-year medical students to El Corpus and the surrounding villages, near the southern town of Choluteca.  For three weeks, we will work to give health-education talks, run clinics, and provide testing and follow-up care for the women of the community. 

The Honduran Health Alliance is an international alliance of organizations working together in the areas of education, capacity building, health, and development. Program partners currently focus their efforts on women's reproductive health and community development through annual women's health education and cervical cancer screening projects.  For more information on who we are and how to get involved, please check out our website: www.med.unc.edu/hha   

This year, our trip will take place from June 25th to July 15th, and as we wind down our first year of medical school -- we are putting together the final plans for our projects and supplies.  Stay tuned for more details on the preparation process, on who we are as a team, on our generous donors and volunteers, and finally a day-by-day account of our work in Honduras!