Roatan Pediatric Volunteer Clinic Newsletter

In the Spring of 2002, Drs. Arup Roy-Burman and Sheila Jenkins visited the Caribbean island of Roatan, Honduras. A diving excursion turned into a fortuitous encounter with Alvin Jackson, island native and local businessman. Arup and Sheila expressed their interest in developing a pediatric program abroad, and Alvin described Roatan's need. Soon after, he introduced Arup and Sheila to the local health administrators, and the idea of the clinic was born. With the support of Global Healing and the Public Hospital Roatan, reality seemed just around the corner. They soon learned, though, that raising funds and finding dedicated volunteer physicians was almost straight-forward compared to the challenges yet to come.

Many months passed with snail-paced discussions with the Honduran government. The hospital had lost its supply of running water. Equipment throughout the ward, clinics, and lab were no longer functional. Despite indoor temperatures exceeding 90 degrees (F), air conditioners were left broken. The pharmacy was in short supply, without many basic medications for children. The planned clinic space was in disrepair and short examination tables and chairs.

However, with the help of concerned government officials including Diputado Evans McNab and his wife Patty, local business owners like Jeff Kuken at Casa Calico, key hospital staff such as head nurse Delia Jones, and a fantastic group of volunteers-- nurse Peggy Stranges, engineer Ron Newton, and all of our doctors, just to name a few-- solutions to all of these early issues have been found. The clinic now has running water and is treating about 20 to 40 children a day. Volunteer doctors are helping in hospital staff education, such as with the introduction of daily teaching rounds on the wards. Our volunteers are also involved with outreach programs, working together with local community members to bring health education to the smaller villages. Thanks to the relentless efforts of everyone involved, the children of Roatan are now on their way to having the kind of basic healthcare that all children deserve.

In this email (edited), one of the first volunteer doctors at Roatan, Dr. Eric Scher, describes his day pursuing running water for the hospital and connecting with the islanders.

Hola, Arup & Sheila,
What a day today. I rented a scooter to get around this weekend to combine work and some observation of the island and people.

"Thanks for allowing me to experience all this and to maybe play a small role in the life of a child."

First and foremost I went to Anthoney's Key Resort to look for the Governor, Clinton Everett, of the Bay Islands. I luckily ran into him immediately and he was as excited to meet me as I was him. We had a wonderful lunch together and I discussed our mission, our goals and hopeful accomplishments. He was genuinely touched by our involvement and would like to help in any way possible.

I had a long and detailed discussion regarding the water issue and he is going to help work on a solution. Clinton will be meeting us at the hospital at 1pm with some TV people to help get the word out about us and also share our concerns. He is impressed with the passion behind our project and believes that their own government and community should have the same.

The rest of the day was spent visiting the hospital, talking to many villagers (especially children), playing soccer with about 40 children, and visiting the Iguana Farm. What a day! What a week! Thanks for allowing me to experience all this and to maybe play a small role in the life of a child.

In our initial experience at the clinic, we have treated a large number of children with abscesses. A poor supply of running water, a healthy population of stinging insects, and a lack of shoes and clothing seem to play major roles in the development of these deep skin infections. Commonly involved areas of the body include the face, scalp, and feet.

Lack of good hygenic practice causes abscesses like these on every part of the body

Children spend most of their time outdoors, and the face and scalp are very easy targets for biting insects. With a loss of running water during the dry season, poor hygiene allows such itchy bites to easily become infected. We have noted a decrease in the rate of skin abscesses during the rainy season when water is in much better supply. Improved water storage and purification systems would greatly diminish the rate of abscesses, and even more important, would decrease the transmission of various gastrointestinal infections.

All day we see children running around the streets without shoes, leaving the feet exposed to recurrent minor trauma. Not only does such trauma allow the entrance of abscess-forming bacteria but also parasites, including worms, that can affect the entire body. Shoes for these children would greatly diminish the likelihood of such infections.

Finally, Honduras has Central America's highest rate of HIV. Infected mothers pass on the infection to their babies, and we have many patients in the clinic suspicious for HIV. With resultant decreased immunity, these children are more prone to abscesses and other infections. We are working together with other non-governmental organizations to help reduce maternal-to-child transmission and HIV education.

RVPC's volunteer doctors are not out there alone. Through the web, RVPC doctors are now consulting with specialists from Children's Hospital Oakland and UCSF, utilizing e-mail, digital images, internet-based telephone, and web-based real-time video conferencing. Recent consultants have included Dr. Ziad Saba, a cardiologist at Children's Hospital Oakland, who is helping with Jairo, a 6 year old who has not previously received significant treatment for congenital heart disease. Gastroenterologist Dr. John Snyder and infectious disease expert Dr. Peggy Weintrub at UCSF have helped with Silvia (pictured here), a 10-year-old with severe ascites.

By early next year, we are planning on opening a regular telemedicine consult station in the Urgent Care Clinic at Children's Hospital Oakland. This will provide a central location for RVPC doctors to easily "curbside" consult other pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists. RVPC doctors' presence in Roatan brings not only their own expertise, but also the expertise of the many other doctors they are networked with in the U.S., something that these children, born in a developing country, would likely never have had access to otherwise.

Through the efforts of our volunteer doctors and nurses, the RPVC is able to open doors for the children of Roatan who would otherwise not have access to health care. Volunteering this quarter are the following physicians:

The opening and continued operation of RVPC is made possible not just through the hands of doctors, but through the very important efforts of many other helpful hands as well. We have greatly appreciated everyone's help. The following are just a few examples:

Contact Information:
Sheila Jenkins, MD and Arup Roy-Burman, MD
Global Healing
Email: arup@itsa.ucsf.edu
Website: www.roatanclinic.org


If you are interested in contributing, please contact Global Healing through its website (www.globalhealing.org) or by phone at (925)327-7889. 100% of your contributions of cash, stock, or property is deductible from your federal and state taxes.

Global Healing is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established to accomplish health care reform, through education, in areas of the world where modern health care is not available.

Since 1994, the focus of the organization has been the establishment of pediatric centers around the world. As part of its endeavor, Global Healing partnered with Dr. Sheila Jenkins and Dr. Arup Roy-Burman in 2003 to open the much needed Roatan Pediatric Volunteer Clinic on the Honduran island of Roatan. Not only will this project involve volunteer pediatricians and associated medical staff, but this will also be developed as an elective opportunity for third-year pediatric residents, allowing our future pediatricians to contribute to medicine in the developing world early in their careers.