Opening Day!

Open!!!! Loads of Gigante citizens and a cadre of Project Woo workers worked hard over the last few months to prepare the clinic for opening day on Monday February 17, 2014.

Lisa, Christian, Pili, and a local resident,
talking over procedures before the clinic opened. 

We arrived over the prior weekend, and met with Lisa Bisceglia, Volunteer Coordinator for Project Woo, who led the cadre and who arranged for the final touches before opening day. Between Project Woo and the community, the clinic is well served. Based on the enthusiasm shown around the opening, the clinic will be a terrific success.  

Dr. Mariana Jarquin, a local physician who currently works for MINSA at the Coyol clinic, was present for her twice monthly community outreach clinic in Gigante. In April, after the completion of her two years of post graduation community service, she will join the clinic as the Health Program Coordinator. 

Lynne, Sebastian, Lisa, Sarah, and Lane,
just before the first family arrived. 

Lynne Maher, an American Nurse Practitioner with tremendous local experience coordinated the clinical efforts.

Pili and Sebastian, a Spanish couple from the Canary Islands, made a big difference on opening day. Pili served as a clinical assistant and took the presenting complaint information.  Sebastian served as interpreter in the office with me. He was terrific. I might not speak Spanish well, but I knew enough to know that he did a wonderful job. Caring, patient, and precise. What a great guy.

Christian, another Project Woo volunteer, was the intake person who signed in all the mothers and children at the reception are.

Sarah, a Project Woo volunteer, who is an American EMT, worked in the clinic with me to help with the assessments.   

The first morning. Dr. Jarquin is on the right talking to Lynne. 

We were all hard at work cleaning away the construction dust at 8 AM and the first patient arrived at about 9:30. Six hours later, after a blur of children, our first day was over. I saw ten children with a variety of minor complaints and was pleased to have all the necessary medications on hand for the problems.   

The clinic door was designed by a local artisan.
The leaves of the tree will eventually honour the donors
who supplied the funding for the clinic.