Free Health Event

March-April 2008

In late March our volunteers traveled to the villages of 28 de Julio and Virgen de Chapi. We spent a morning visiting each house to learn whether any family members required medical attention. Individuals with medical complaints were offered the opportunity to be seen free of charge in a local clinic the following Friday.

On Friday, April 4, we met the ailing patients at the Daniel A. Carrion Clinic in Arequipa. Each patient received a free consult with a doctor of the appropriate specialty. In total seventeen individuals were seen by specialists in general medicine, pediatrics, ENT, trauma, neurology, rheumatology, and odontology.

The clinic's dentist provided free fillings and tooth extractions for five patients. In addition, Program for a Better Peru purchased eyeglasses for two ophthalmology patients. In cases where the doctors deemed medications necessary, Program for a Better Peru provided the drugs free of charge. We bought medicine for patients with various diseases including intestinal parasites, osteoporosis, and back pain.

Several of the patients needed further specialized treatment, which we provided free of charge. One woman was hospitalized a few days after our free medical event, and we helped her family by paying for the drugs she needed while in the hospital. In addition, we are in the process of arranging surgery for a woman with an ear injury and a man with debilitating muscle weakness due to a compressed cervical spine.