Panama | EVMS Magazine | Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk

A Lasting Impact—

On Students and patients

Daris Beth, a 28-year-old Panama City resident, pictured holding her daughter

An EVMS Global Health team learns and serves in remote Panama villages

Two dozen EVMS students, residents, faculty members and staff participated in a medical mission trip to Panama earlier this year to collaborate with the international nonprofit Floating Doctors, providing care for the residents of two isolated oceanfront villages.

After visiting the Floating Doctors base, half of the medical team traveled by boat to Cayo de Agua, an island of approximately 3,000 people.

Each morning of the medical mission, the EVMS team was greeted by large crowds gathered each day to receive that care. During daily clinics, team members treated infections and skin conditions; managed chronic diseases, such as diabetes; performed eye exams; contributed to ongoing family planning and health education initiatives; and attempted to curb a recent outbreak of chicken pox.

One teen dealing with that outbreak left an impression on Stafford Brown, MD Class of 2022. It was brutally hot outside, but the boy was wearing a hoodie and jeans because he was embarrassed about his bumps.

“I told him the story about how I had chicken pox when I was little, but I got better,” Mr. Brown says. “He smiled and I think it helped him see that he wasn’t alone. To be able to communicate is so important, and this trip has inspired me to work even harder on my Spanish to increase my ability to translate for and treat future patients.”

Dozens of people from surrounding towns visited the clinic each day. They started lining up in the early morning hours waiting for the clinic to open.

Young Panamanian boy poses to have his picture taken

Dorothy Requina, Stafford Brown and Jacqueline Alvarado-Valadez pose for a picture after setting up their hammocks in a classroom. The team slept outdoors for two nights with hammocks and mosquito nets.

When given the opportunity to join the Panama team, Dorothy Requina, MD Class of 2022, didn’t hesitate. “I have always wanted to make a difference in more than just the area around Hampton Roads,” Ms. Requina says. “I thought, what better way to start making an impact in the world than my first medical mission trip.”

Her time in Panama she says, was the most rewarding experience of her life. “The living conditions may have been a little unconventional, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. All of the things I learned while there, not only the Spanish but also the cultural competency, are useful tools that I believe will help make me a better physician in the future.”

The other half of the team traveled by boat to the village of Playa Verde to participate in daily clinics.

Within moments of arriving in Playa Verde, Panama, members of the Floating Doctors and EVMS medical mission team made a lifesaving difference for a young girl. A week earlier, the girl had fallen from a partially constructed shelter perched on stilts high above the ground. Her broken leg was now severely infected.

While the team’s music therapist played guitar to refocus the crying girl, others splinted her leg and gave her a dose of antibiotics. By the time they were done, she was singing and laughing despite the pain. With the help of Floating Doctors’ resources and a referral from a Panamanian physician working with the group, they were able to make arrangements to send her and her mother on a small boat to the nearest hospital.

“If she hadn’t been seen by a medical professional, she could have easily become septic and died,” says Alexandra Leader, MD, MPH, Director of Global Health, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics.

“Remote villages like this one,” Dr. Leader explains, “rely on a far-flung network of healthcare professionals and advocates to gain access to lifesaving care.”

Bernardo Canga, MMT, Music Therapist, sings in Spanish to a clinic patient to help refocus her attention.

The people and experiences also made a lasting impact on David Dorbad, MD (MD ’02, Pediatrics Residency ’05), Assistant Professor of Pediatrics. “In the U.S.,” Dr. Dorbad says, “we tend to associate effective interventions with research and expenditures, but we neglect to think about systems and access. This medical mission helped me see how interventions can be made with limited resources to produce dramatic life improvements.”

David Dorbad, MD (MD’02), Pediatrics Residency ’05), talks with a patient and her children during the clinic in Playa Verde.

This journey was just one of many examples of global health training, service and research facilitated by EVMS Global Health in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Mexico, Grenada, Belize, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Kenya, Israel, India, Senegal, Bangladesh and other countries.

Alexandra Leader, MD, MPH, Director of Global Health and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, says it is an opportunity, responsibility and great privilege to connect with and care for communities like the one they visited in Playa Verde.

Inside Look

EVMS Medical Team

EVMS PHYSICIANS AND COMMUNITY FACULTY

Alexandra Leader, MD, MPH, Director of Global Health and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Pamela Pyle, MD, Virginia Beach Obstetrics and Gynecology, Assistant Professor of OB/GYN
Carolina Casellini, MD, Internal Medicine and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Peter Paik, MD, Assistant Professor of Family and Community Medicine
Ligia Nascente, MD, EVMS Pediatrics

Community Partners

Bernardo Canga, MMT, Music Therapist
Karen Ireland, RN, LCC, Sentara Lactation Specialist
Randy Duvall, First Presbyterian Church, Virginia Beach
Adriana Andreae, MD, PhD, Penn State, Department of Pediatrics
Caitie Purcell, Medical Spanish Interpreter, former Panama Peace Corps alum

EVMS STUDENTS AND RESIDENTS

Robert Propst, MD Class of 2022
Erin Bartholomew, MD Class of 2022
Kathy Hopkins, MD Class of 2022
Stafford Brown, MD Class of 2022
Ariana Pape, MD Class of 2021
Adrianna Carrasco, MD Class of 2022
Rachelle Gonzales, MD Class of 2022
Dorothy Requina, MD Class of 2022
Jaqueline Alvarado-Valadez, MD Class of 2021
Daniel Favaro, MD Class of 2021
Amanda Tosi, MD Class of 2022
Alex Metzger, MD Class of 2021
Nima Sekhadia, MD (EVMS/CHKD Pediatrics Residency ’19)
Jennifer Cavin, MD (Portsmouth Family Medicine Residency ’19)

EVMS Staff

Lydia Cleveland, MPH, Program Coordinator for Global Health
Brendan Ash, Media Manager, Marketing & Communications

EVMS Global Health fosters collaboration with local and international NGOs that support education, quality improvement, clincal service and collaborative research to strengthen systems of care and uphold the health of communities worldwide.

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Journey to Bangladesh