The purpose of the clinic is to register and examine all the potential patients. At the end of the day lucky patients will be selected for surgery.
The day starts early again with breakfast at 6:00 am followed by a bus ride to the clinic hospital which is a different hospital from the one where we will do the surgeries. We were greeted by the staff and numerous volunteers upon arrival. Again more carrying boxes.
Many of the families wanting to register their children were already waiting. Many were bussed in the day before from the countryside surrounding Cumana.
The 1st hour or so was spent getting organized and figuring out the patient flow in the hospital. This would not be at all possible without the many local Rotarians and sponsor volunteers that support the mission.
For the potential patients the day begins with registration, i.e. filling out lots of forms and getting pictures taken. Each patient has a folder with their number and all the forms which follow them everywhere. The number is also written on their arms.
The next stop is the measurement of their vital signs including lab work.
Throughout the day the kids and the adults were entertained to help break up the long long day.
Vitals are followed by an examination by a surgeon to determine the type of surgery required and if it is feasible with the resources available. The surgeons were assisted by Mission nurses and volunteer translators.
To assure the overall health is adequate the children are next examined by a pediatrician.
Finally they receive a dental exam to determine if a cleaning, devices or other dental services are necessary. If needed this will be done before any surgery.
Decisions are made throughout this process in which patients can or cannot be treated by the Rotaplast team. Each folder is given a colored sticker indicating the final outcome: green for acceptable and red for not acceptable.
The final patient was seen at roughly 7:00 pm and we left the hospital at 8:30 pm. It had been a very successful day. We registered and examined 246 potential patients. Of those 13 lucky patients were selected for surgery the next day. A simple preliminary schedule was created that evening and converted to a computer spreadsheet the following day.
The Team all felt it was as very successful Clinic and which will lead into a very successful surgical program beginning Wednesday.