by Pam Mudd, MD, chief resident

What an amazing experience Operation Quetzal (the name of the money in Guatemala) has been, with everything running smoothly down in Guatemala City! The team here is incredible. It has been quite an experience for the groups normally working together in and out of the normal operating days to truly function as a team.

We have PACU nurses placing IVs and scrub techs aiding in intubations. Dr. Mohanram (anesthesiology) even attempted to scrub an ear case today! This type of team work will continue as we head back to Children’s Hospital Colorado with a new perspective on the work that goes into each piece of the peri-operative team.

Smooth surgeries, grateful families
The operative cases have been flowing smoothly and on Wednesday we successfully aided two children with multiple failed cleft palate repairs to improve speech and closed a beautiful 5-month-old baby girl’s cleft lip. The gratefulness of the families and patients is beyond compare. The patients themselves are so strong!

The culture of Guatemala does not support the use of narcotics in patients in the post-operative period for multiple reasons- but we have seen our patients do well with Tylenol alone and they are smiling and drinking, blessing us, and thanking us all. There is also a cultural belief here that the tonsils can cause many ailments from headache to bone pain to cold hands! We have signed up about 17 tonsils +/- adenoids for this week (for real indications of course).

Teaching and training local medical residents
The teams of MDs were able to meet Wednesday evening with the pediatric residency program at the local children’s hospital to teach some of our specialty training and to learn about some of the differences in management which is so helpful for us to help the understanding to manage our patients here.

Assistance from the community and beyond
The patients we are working with here have no means to receive health care and are traveling hours to be seen in our clinic for operations. There are so many groups donating to make our efforts possible with private radiology groups doing CT scans on the same day for less than $20, discounted medications, rushed pathology, and Ronald McDonald house supporting our families that are not safe to travel hours away!

Beyond this there are so many local volunteers that have come to help the Shalom Foundation and the Moore Center for Pediatric Surgery. We have plenty of volunteer students helping us with translation and aiding the patients and the parents in the peri-operative time. Even lunch for the volunteers, medical team, and support staff has been donated by a local restaurant (which is fantastic!). We are blessed in so many ways. I speak on behalf of the entire group when I say that we feel so privileged to be here in Guatemala City serving this population of patients who are in such need!

More surgeries await
I must sign off now as I have to rest – 15 surgeries on the schedule Thursday with two large neck and facial masses, a bilateral cleft palate, an obstructed nose, an open ear, and many obstructed airways to attend to!

Thank you all for your support of  Children’s Colorado’s global health initiative and the team here at Shalom Foundation and their Moore Center for Pediatric Surgery!

We welcome your prayers, thoughts, and questions!

By Greg Allen, MD

Health care providers have an innate desire to help those in need. It’s part of why we got into this business in the first place! In our complicated health care environment it is not uncommon to experience frustration and think, “I just want to take care of kids, why does all this stuff get in the way?”

Encouragement is what I have found providing medical care for children internationally. I find myself relying on core medical principles and practices that allow me to provide the same high quality care free of the complexity.  As the team lead of the upcoming Guatemala ENT trip I am very excited about being part of this team of amazing people. This initiative aims to pave the way for others at Children’s Colorado to participate in future medical missions. We want to involve the whole community! Our aim is to provide an opportunity for everyone, providers and support personnel alike, to be personally involved.

Packing party
On Saturday, Jan. 7, the team spent most of the day in basic information sessions and a “packing party”. This is an integral part of any trip of this type; getting all the supplies out and visible and then replacing stuff in various suitcases. Making sure everyone had a bag as full as possible and as close to the 50 pound limit as possible.

It was obvious that some people are much better planners than I am! What you would never know is that some of these people have NEVER been on a medical mission trip before. Everyone dove in head first and worked their tails off… we were finally a team, working together, laughing together, being nervous and anxious together. The excitement was palpable!

The team will use this forum to communicate with our friends and supporters before, during, and after our trip. We welcome your interest, support, and prayers during this time. In the coming days and weeks, you will meet and hear from other members of this remarkable team.

During the trip, updates will include photos and personal stories from team members. Please stay tuned, and check back often. Subscribe via Facebook or Twitter to get updates.

By Sandra Diaz-Castillo

Perspective is what I get every time I go abroad. I see Mario happily playing soccer barefoot in a dirt field with broken glass. I see his house made of blankets hanging from the trees. His mom cooking over wood and willingly offering us to eat. I see Angelica who graciously shares their outhouse (a hole in the ground with blankets on wire to cover them). Even in these circumstances, they are so happy and grateful for their lives; perspective is what I get when I serve abroad. I am humbled.

I know I am not alone, over the past couple of years at Children’s Colorado I’ve had the opportunity to meet wonderful people committed to helping children and families living in extreme poverty. Many go abroad on their own time to give children and their families a better quality of life. I think of Faith Beazer who coordinates cardiac surgery trips to Nicaragua alongside Drs. Da Cruz and Jaggers. I think of Drs. Berman, Hayes, Niermeyer, Deleyiannis, Bruny, Allen and so many more who have dedicated endless hours for the health and well-being of children and families internationally. I think of Jerrod Milton, who has gone above and beyond coordinating care for international patents here at Children’s Hospital Colorado. Many of us are serving in more than 25 countries world-wide. 

In the heart of our community
Global Health is in the heart of our community. For this and many more reasons, Children’s Colorado is launching a Global Health Initiative — a collaboration between the University of Colorado Center for Global Health — to formalize our global health activities in order to maximize our efforts.  As part of this effort, Children’s Colorado will partner with two to three international locations over the next several years to engage in activities around our mission while building capacity in a developing country.  Guatemala has been identified as our first country of engagement. 

 As you know, our first trip will be Jan. 21- 29, 2012, with an ENT focus, providing a range of procedures from vent tubes to cleft-palate repairs.  To help facilitate this pilot trip, several OR staff members have been invited to participate in this inaugural trip. Our goal is to provide staff with the opportunity to participate in any of Children’s Colorado sponsored trips, which we hope will be two to four times per year. 

A life-changing program
This pilot trip has been and will continue to be a great learning experience in the establishment of our Global Health Initiative. We are aware and recognize some of the generous and creative efforts from our staff to make this trip a reality. Staff from all departments are contributing to make this trip a success and we thank them for that. 

I am looking forward to this Global Health journey at Children’s Colorado. I know going on this trip with provide me with new insights and perspectives to bring back to others that will inspire and energize us as we grow this life-changing program.

How you can help
You too can contribute to the success of this trip and become part of Children’s Colorado’s Global Health community:
• Donate now: Every dollar helps towards purchasing supplies, such as multi-vitamins and vitamin C and Zinc for the children receiving surgeries, sending the supplies and sponsoring a team member. Giving at every level will help Children’s Colorado raise at least $5,000 for this trip. Click here to donate.
• Stay in touch: Follow Global Health Institute activities during the trip through this blog and on Children’s Colorado’s Facebook page and Twitter feed.

By Jessica Ennis

Familiar with providing care to international patients, Children’s Hospital Colorado has made several efforts over the years to influence these patients’ care and long-term health.

One of the hospital’s most elaborate efforts occurred in early 2011, when it hosted five children from Chile who received urological surgeries here in Colorado. It was one of Children’s Colorado’s greatest international outreach efforts – until now. This month, the Global Health Institute at Children’s Hospital Colorado, in an inaugural medical mission trip, hopes to provide surgical care to approximately 40 children in their home country of Guatemala.

Consistent with its patient care mission, Children’s Colorado will sponsor short-term medical missions in partnership with the Moore Pediatric Surgery Center, a local surgery center in Guatemala City.

The Moore Pediatric Surgical Center is a cooperative venture between several U.S.-based children’s hospitals to serve extremely poor children in Guatemala by providing access to life-changing surgical procedures. The Shalom Foundation operates the Center; they provide humanitarian assistance to children and their families living in extreme poverty.

Creating a village
“As a founding member of the center, we have the opportunity to provide leadership around pediatric surgical efforts,” said Amy Casseri, chief strategy officer at Children’s Colorado. “It’s like creating a village around one of the poorest countries in Central America with the long-term goal of capacity building.”

Fifteen members from various departments at Children’s Colorado will leave for Guatemala City, Guatemala on Jan. 21. They will spend a week at the Moore Pediatric Surgery Center, a modern surgical facility, performing ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgeries.

The team held a kick-off event held on Nov. 17, where they were briefed on what would need to be completed prior to embarking on the eight-day trip.

Gregory Allen, MD, and Patricia Yoon, MD, both ENT surgeons, are the team leads. A resident, two fellows, an anesthesiologist and several nurses will participate in the trip. Additionally, two members of the Global Health Institute and Amy Casseri, chief strategy officer, will travel with the group.

“Every time I go on a medical mission, I feel I receive so much more than I am able to give,” Dr. Allen said.

Late Sat., Jan. 21 the team will depart to Guatemala. Early Sun., Jan. 22, the team will begin to screen more than 60 patients during the pre-operative clinic. Surgeries will be performed Jan. 23-26 and patients will be seen a post-operative clinic on Jan. 27.

It will be a very busy week for all those involved, with an anticipated 45 procedures including, but not limited to, cleft lip/palate and branchial cleft repairs, tonsillectomies/adenoidectomies, ventilation tubes, neck mass removals and others as needed.

Earlier this year, a partnership formed between the Center for Global Health at the Colorado School of Public Health and Children’s Hospital Colorado to establish the Global Health Institute at Children’s Colorado.

Contributing to success
The Center for Global Health and the Global Health Institute strive to contribute to improving the health and welfare of the world’s poorest populations, focusing on family and child health. The institute will be the central point of contact at Children’s Colorado to support international activities.

Activities include partnering with one or more organizations to build capacity within identified international communities and delivering on-going clinical services (e.g. continuing consultative support, training and education). Support will also be given to the evacuation of children in need, either due to a natural disaster or on an individual need basis.

You too can contribute to the success of this trip and become part of Children’s Colorado’s Global Health community:
• Donate now: Every dollar helps towards purchasing supplies, such as multi-vitamins and vitamin C and Zinc for the children receiving surgeries, sending the supplies and sponsoring a team member. Giving at every level will help Children’s Colorado raise at least $5,000 for this trip. Click here to donate.
• Stay in touch: Follow Global Health Institute activities during the trip through this blog and on Children’s Colorado’s Facebook page and Twitter feed.