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US-based medical team to conduct 150 free surgeries
By Rehanna Ramsay
With the aim of conducting 150 free surgeries in one week, staffers of the Davis Memorial Hospital have teamed up with US – based medical mission, Legacy Of Healing, (LOH) to provide corrective operations and healthcare outreach to members of the public.
(Third from right) CEO of Davis Memorial, Beverly Chan flanked by members of the Legacy of Healing team.
The Legacy of Healing team consists of 35 persons including surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses and a dentist.
The team is here for one week. During that period they are expected to conduct corrective procedures for a number of conditions including hydrocele, cleft palates, hernias and hand deficiencies.
LOH is a Christian non -Profit Corporation, which conducts medical missions worldwide, providing free surgeries, medical and dental care and safe drinking water to underserved communities.
Head of the Mission, Dr. Steve Schmidt explained that the team is made up of people of many different faiths, all of whom have a common goal of helping others.
“I am a Christian, a Seventh Day Adventist but we have people who are Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist on our team.”
Dr. Schmidt related that ever since their arrival, the group has seen an ever increasing number of patients.
“We last came to Guyana in 2010 and we did 154 surgeries….This time around, I don’t know. We’ve already seen a significant number of patients and we are still screening.”
The work which began yesterday morning at the Davis Memorial (Seventh Day Adventist Hospital), located at Durban Backlands Georgetown attracted several persons, including a number of children.
As part of the outreach in Guyana, Dr. Schmidt, an Ohio- based Plastic Surgeon, explained that the group will also conduct healthcare clinics in several parts of the country.
Speaking about his area of specialty, the surgeon asserted that this week “I want to do cleft lifts and palates because that‘s where I believe I can make the biggest difference. I can do an operation on a child that has a cleft lift with instruments that can fit in my pockets.”
Dr. Schmidt stressed further that the procedure can be done using very basic tools.
“I don’t need a lot of things to fix it, while there are some specialties which need a lot of stuff…what I need is very simple and that can change the rest of a child’s life.”
Among the procedures which are scheduled to be done, Dr. Schmidt specified one which requires the construction and placement of an artificial ear to a child who was born without one.
Staff of the Davis Memorial Hospital engaged in a CPR training exercise.
“We are trying to get it done because we only have one week. This is our only shot,” he said, adding that the LOH team will also be conducting health education exercises which include further CPR training for staff of the hospital.
Chief Executive Officer of Davis Memorial Hospital, Beverly Chan, noted that the institution welcomes the work of the mission, which she believes can be instrumental in alleviating the healthcare burdens of the local populace.
“These are conditions, in which surgeries are sometimes not readily available to persons seeking attention locally.”
“For instance, patients with Hydrocele often have to wait for long periods before they can undergo a surgery at the public hospital. These procedures are quite expensive too, so to have it done privately may not be an option available to many persons,” Chan stated.
In addition to the work at the hospital, the CEO said that an LOH outreach team will be conducting exercises at La Viva La- Force, West Demerara, Parika East Bank Essequibo, St Cuthbert’s Mission, Mahaica and the Olivet Seventh Day Adventist Church located in Durban Back Lands.
The team is expected to wrap up its work before next Sunday.
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