Cindy Clair — Providence Health & Services and PeaceHealth
Bajo Lempa Medical Brigade

Time to set up clinic! Eyes, General Medicine, Pediatrics, OB/GYN, and Pharmacy sites were established. I’d never seen a more spontaneously creative group of professionals as we had. Old tables were set up as consult desks. A few pieces of duct tape and some shower curtains and we had OB/GYN exam rooms (with vases of bright bougainvilleas, mind you!). Eye charts were taped to a wall at the perfect distance for testing the eyes. All vision testing equipment was set up on tables with plastic lawn chairs, ready for patients. Shelves were arranged to provide one of the coolest pharmacies I’d ever seen, fully stocked (I have to say, this was probably the only time I’d ever be able to walk into a pharmacy and help myself to whatever I needed for a headache). Cushions were arranged on old tables to act as exam tables for children. Rows and rows of banquet tables provided a huge, organized inventory of prescription glasses, bifocals and sunglasses . . . all clearly labeled and ready to dispense. Gloves, garbage cans, equipment, sterile bins, bags of little toys and stickers . . . and hand sterilizer, of course, were planted properly in place. Everything was ready after a few hours of hard work. A review of the flow for the days ahead, processes for the documentation of diagnosis, marking treatment as complete, and what to do when translation was needed were all reviewed. I think everyone felt reasonably ready for whatever the next day would bring. We thought so, anyway . . .

Dinner, last thoughts and questions, then off for a cold shower and a good nights’ rest. And, I mean COLD shower. . . . and it felt good.

This is what our set-up day looked like . . .

Cleaning the Center for the next day’s clinic

Vern, Deb & Catherine creating OB/GYN exam rooms