Medical Missions: 2011 - Chengdu, Sichuan Province
Follow the Medical Mission 2011 on our Blog.
CCPF's May, 2011 mission to the Chengdu Women’s and Children’s Hospital was the teams’ first visit to a hospital in the Sichuan province. The selection of the location was made in conjunction with the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs and was one of four locations visited by Gena Palumbo, John Connor, MD, Phil LaRussa, MD, and David Roye, Jr., MD at the beginning of 2010. The hospital serves the residents of the area torn apart by the 2008 earthquake, many of whom are still struggling to gain their health, livelihood and normal daily existence. It is also an area where countless orphaned children are stretching limited resources.
Forty children were assessed during the mission; thirty seven surgeries performed. While many of the children and their caregivers traveled from within Chengdu, others traveled from neighboring provinces of Hunan, Guangxi and Guizhou. Fifteen orthopaedic surgeries were performed including leg lengthening and bilateral thumb repair. Eight urological surgeries included hypospadias repair and bladder augmentation. And fourteen plastic surgeries were performed including cleft lip and cleft palate repairs.
From the moment of arrival, the CCPF team began working seamlessly setting up equipment and systems to immediately begin evaluation of the children who arrived the same day.
The faculty and staff at Chengdu Women’s and Children’s Hospital was well prepared for the visit and shared our enthusiasm and made us feel welcomed immediately. Thanks to the new facility, the hospital was well equipped and included amenities that the staff of our hospitals at home would envy including large new operating rooms.
Our paramount goal is to improve the care of Chinese orphans and to educate the medical, surgical and nursing teams of our host hospitals with the latest treatment options and the basics they may have missed. The leadership of Chengdu Women’s and Children’s Hospital helped us organize our educational efforts in a way we had not previously experienced. They obviously valued the experience and knowledge of our team members. There was a sophistication and appreciation of the knowledge exchange that the team has rarely experienced in the past. The educational offerings were very well attended by the staff of the hospital and surrounding institutions. In addition to technical education offerings, we were able to promote our message of volunteerism and the value of every child – even if they do not have parents or the means to get medical care.
Many thanks to the CCPF medical and support team:
- Anesthesiologists - Dr. Marie-Louise Caloustian, Dr. Dean Lao, Dr. Fran Yudkowitz
- Operating Room and Recovery Nurses - Kathryn Blouin, Carmela Grande, Anna Judilla, Rene Sison, Louise Strickland, Flora Wang, Ashley Zook
- Orthotist - Vincent Benenati
- Pediatric care - Dr. Eda Chao, Dr. Philip LaRussa, Dr. Harvey Bieler
- Planning - Gena Palumbo, Hong Haiyang
- Respiratory Technician - Robert Williams
- Surgeons - Dr. Abigail Allen, Dr. Darwin Chen, Dr. John Connor, Dr. Eric Lazar, Dr. Samuel Rhee, Dr. David Roye
- Volunteers/Translators - Ellen Chang, Mike Goettig, Ji Tang
And many thanks to all of CCPF’s sponsors, volunteers, and supporters for making this opportunity to change the lives of children possible.
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