2022 in Review
Brigades Return and New Blood Lab Up and Running
This was an exciting year with the return of brigades to Manos Amigas after 2-1/2 years of not being able to safely send volunteers. Our brigades work closely with the Manos Amigas staff, strengthening the partnership between Serving at the Crossroads and the Manos Amigas Clinic. We also significantly upgraded our blood analysis capability and hired a director for the lab. Your generosity provides supplies for the brigades, purchase of specialized equipment, as well as support for the day-to-day operations.
Vision Health International (VHI) Eye Brigade
VHI celebrated its 100th field program at Manos Amigas, October 9 to 16. With pouring rain and flooding, VHI asked Karen, the Manos Amigas optometrist, if she thought the patients would still come despite the weather and she said, They wouldn’t miss it! They have been waiting for 2-1/2 years for surgery,” and she was right! Most of these people have been so blinded by cataracts that they couldn’t even see the chair to sit down. VHI provided 90 life-altering surgeries and 142 eye exams.
Vision Health International Team
General and Oral Surgery Brigade
A combined general surgery and oral surgery brigade arrived October 22. The three operating rooms were busy all week. The team repaired 52 hernias, removed 27 cysts and lipomas, and performed 8 other surgeries. The oral surgery team saw 84 patients, extracted 104 teeth, including 85 that were impacted, and performed 5 soft tissue surgeries. The general surgery and oral surgery team even worked together on one of the patients.
General Surgery and Oral Surgery Brigade
Front Row (L-R): Jodi Sandherr, Elizabeth Hecht, Anne Marie Patton, Pam Demnicki, Julius Heyman; Middle Row (L-R): Becca Peterson, Chris Aylsworth, Jewel Campbell, Maria Zavala, Jen Smith, Karen Helf, Cherie Salamy, George Trajtenberg; Back Row (L-R): Jamie Brice, Inger Goodroad, Jim Gustainis, David Kelley, Tracey Cohen, Lori Leigh Peachy, Mike Walker, Adriana Trajtenberg, David Goodroad, Constantine Kokenses, Sandra Sosa.
Blood Lab Up and Running
Forty percent of patients require analytical lab chemistries, commonly referred to as “blood work.” Previously, patients would have to go elsewhere to a lab. Now, those analyses can happen on-site at Manos Amigas. Under the direction of Dra. Marggie Eunice Montalvan, up to 26 different analytical laboratory tests can be performed as needed, with reports turned around in a matter of minutes for the physicians. This testing capability aids in diagnosis so that proper treatment can be administered quickly without the patient having to travel to another facility. The newly purchased instruments are an A15 BioSystems BioChemistry Analyzer to perform an array of blood tests to evaluate organ functions, and a CELL-DYN Emerald 22 Hematological System for complete blood count testing and cell analysis. Since August, Dra. Marggie has run 3,520 blood tests for 1,365 patients. These new instruments are a welcome addition to the Manos Amigas clinic.
When Serving at the Crossroads was founded, our goal was ensure people had permenent access to health care. While our brigades provide much needed specialized care, they are only at the clinic for a week at a time. The clinic staff follows up with patients after the brigade leaves, ensuring continuity of care for those treated by brigades as well as day-to-day medical, dental, and eye care. We are fortunate to have skilled healthcare providers — doctors, dentists, optometrist, nurses, and critical support staff to provide patient care year round. From January to November of this year, the clinic staff cared for 17,199 patients.
