200 Children Recieve Help from Shriners Clinic and Hospital de la Familia

Location:
Sunday, November 1st, 2009

Details:

The prayers and wishes of 200 children and their families were answered one Friday morning late October. Through the generous work of the Shriners Hospital for Children at Salt Lake City, Utah and medical personnel from Hospital de la Familia, 200 children with orthopedic ailments received much needed free surgeries, medical care and medical equipment such as wheelchairs, walkers and braces. Doctors, social workers, specialists and coordinators from Shriners were on hand to work with FEMAP / SADEC staff and volunteers.

More than 300 children were triaged. Children and their family came from the various cities in Chihuahua State and as far as Durango and Sinaloa. Children were accompanied by parents and other family members, therefore more than 600 people were at the make-shift clinic. Being unable to house so many people inside the hospital, Hospital de la Familia administrators asked the City of Cd. Juarez to close down Manuel Cardona street. Tents, tables and chairs were donated to build the temporary, make-shift clinic and volunteers from DIF and college students from Chihuahua State University took the six hour trip to Cd. Juarez to help with the two-day clinic.

The 200 vouchers went quickly. Even though the clinic was set to triage children until 2 p.m., by noon, only 20 vouchers were left and were to be distributed to children with extreme orthopedic problems who can benefit from surgery.

Graciela De Leon, Community Outreach Coordinator for FEMAP/SADEC in Cd. Juarez, took advantage to set up cervical cancer and breast cancer exams, and cholesterol and diabetes screenings for the hundreds of parents waiting with their children. "The exams were free and we made sure we expedited the results so that these parents could know the results," explains De Leon.

For many years, the Shriners used the Firefighters Building at the foot of the International Bridge in downtown Cd. Juarez. “Hospital de la Familia provided imaging and laboratory services for their patients,” says Dr. Gustavo Martinez, medical director for the FEMAP / SADEC medical units. “We are delighted to have the opportunity to work in a closer capacity with them.”

After the building was destroyed in a fire, the Shriners administrators decided to move their make-shift clinic to Hospital de la Familia. “The October clinic was the first time that in many years that we were in a new place,” says Kristine Ferguson, Care Coordinator for the Shriners Hospitals for Children at Salt Lake City, Utah. “Everything flowed well.”