FEBRUARY: Fremont Clinic, NC
The Fremont Rural Health Clinic is a free health clinic held once a month in Fremont, NC, a town of approximately 1500 about 1.5 hours from Durham. It offers basic health services, including vaccinations, chronic condition management, acute care visits, and referrals to other medical centers. The clinic is funded by the town of Fremont and managed by the Fremont Rural Health Coalition, and Duke provides the necessary supplies as well as medical students to provide the care under the supervision of Dr. Jeffery Margolis (board certified in Internal Medicine).
FEBRUARY: Gbason town, Liberia
Amos Kai is a Duke Materials Resources Technician who is originally from Gbason town in Sinoe County, Liberia. With Amos’ help we donated 9 cases of exam gloves for use in the clinic in his hometown.
FEBRUARY: Haiti
Shelia Rittgers, Duke social worker coordinated another donation from REMEDY to Haiti as part of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church’s ongoing health care work in Haiti.
APRIL: Lambarene, Gabon
Nicole Helmke is a Duke medical student who brought REMEDY supplies to the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Lambarene, Gabon. The hospital was founded in 1913 by Dr. Albert Schweitzer and includes two operating rooms, a dental clinic and inpatient wards for pediatric, adult medicine, surgical and obstetrical patients. Funding is provided by the Schweitzer Foundation and the Gabonese government.
APRIL: Quetzaltenago, Guatemala
Rev. Luke Rhyee, is a physician and 2009 graduate of the Duke Divinity School. He established a non-profit, Healing Guatemala, which serves Mayan indigenous people in Quetzaltenago (locally called Xela), Guatemala. This year, Healing Guatemala will have its first clinic in Xela. Initially the clinic will cover general diseases, but eventually the goal is for it to be a center specializing in the treatment of gynecological and pediatric cancers. Also this clinic will act as a headquarters for future clinics that will be located in mountain areas.
APRIL: El Pital, Honduras
Duke undergraduate students spent their spring break with Project HEAL, which is a health education and awareness organization that has worked in Honduras for the last 5 years. Students volunteer alongside health professionals to provide health education in schools and clinics in the local community. This year, Project HEAL worked closely with the NGO Un Mundo in the health center in El Pital and nearby communities Rio Viego and Yaruca. The student run group coordinates this annual trip with Project HEAL.
APRIL: Honduras
The Duke chapter of Global Medical Brigades spent their spring break volunteering with medical professionals providing week long medical clinics in rural Honduras.
MAY: La Ceiba, Honduras
Donald Ellis is a pediatric emergency room physician at Duke who traveled to La Ceiba , Honduras to work with the medical arm of Mission to the World (MTW). MTW is a Presbyterian organization which provides practical training for medical professionals in how to participate in and lead international relief projects. Dr. Ellis brought supplies to a rural and urban clinics where he completed this training.
MAY: La Paz, Bolivia
Kevin Broyles is currently the Associate Chief Medical Officer for Duke Primary Care and Senior Medical Director for Duke Urgent Care Services. He is also an Assistant Professor of Community and Family Medicine within the Duke University School of Medicine. Dr. Broyles has been working with HOPEworldwide/Hospital Arco Iris Foundation in La Paz for the past 2 years. HAI operates a hospital in La Paz that provides free medical care for the poor and underserved. Here is a video about the hospital and its programs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbsaYwaWqQk&feature=youtu REMEDY donated 4 pallets (approximately 70 boxes) of supplies to support their services.
JULY: Cebu, Philippines
The Carolina Medical Mission http://www.carolinamedicalmission.com/ is a humanitarian/medical arm of the Phil-American Association of North Carolina (PAANC). Members of this group, organized by Maria Imelda Ramos-Garcia at Duke Raleigh Hospital, travelled to Cebu, Philippines with a container of medical supplies to provide assistance in the wake of typhoon Haiyan.
AUGUST-OCTOBER: Liberia
REMEDY donated 25 pallets of surplus medical supplies to Liberia to aid with the Ebola outbreak. Amanda Thomas, RN at Duke Regional and Amos Kai from Duke Materials Services organized the Liberia shipments. Personal protective wear (gloves, gowns, masks) and antiseptics are in critical shortage in these countries, who had limited health care resources even prior to the epidemic.
NOVEMBER: Guatemala City, Guatemala
Dr. Henry Rice, Megan Nute, NP and other Duke medical staff travelled again this year to Guatemala under the auspices of the Shalom Foundation/Moore Pediatric Surgery Center to perform pediatric surgery and provide other medical care to families living in extreme poverty in Guatemala City. REMEDY supplied them with about a dozen boxes of medical and surgical supplies to support their work.
DECEMBER: Nicaragua
The Duke chapter of Global Medical Brigades are traveling to Nicaragua for their annual winter trip. Global Medical Brigades https://www.globalbrigades.org develops sustainable health initiatives and provides relief where there is limited access to healthcare. The focus of Duke’s chapter is in Central America where student volunteers and health professionals travel to establish mobile medical clinics in under resourced communities. REMEDY at Duke supports this effort with the donation of needed supplies.
