Tarapoto is in the high Peruvian jungle, about halfway between Lima and
Iquitos. This was the first SHARES trip to Tarapoto, and Dr. Stieg's 27th
Florida Hospital SHARES surgical mission trip. Dr. Dobson, the SHARES
medical director, and Dr. Strickland were the anesthesiologists. Joy,
Diane, and Tina rom our Plastic Surgery Specialists office all were on the trip,
as well as Julio Rivera, anesthesia tech and translator, and Kristin Strickland,
recovery room nurse. Elizabeth Medina,RN maintained all the records and
documentation, and the SHARES International coordinator, Jessily Ramirez along
with Nestor de Armas, our SHARES president/director completed the Orlando Team.
Rita Valdivia, the Peru coordinator, along with the Tarapoto Rotary and the
Universidad Peruana Union (Adventist University in Tarapoto) provided
outstanding support. The facility is named: "HOSPITAL II-1" and plastic surgeon
Dr. Flores and dental surgeon Dr. Garcia were wonderful to work with. The
hospital director, Carlos Guerrero, had met with Rita, and our SHARES Board
Chairman had met nearly a year ago to set this mission experience into action -
and the support and commitment to the SHARES goal of establishing
self-sustaining multi-disciplinary cleft teams has been beyond any expectation.
We did 29 procedures for 26 patients, and are ager to return again next year to
work with this dedicated community.
It is always an adventure going to a new site and it was certainly the
enthusiasm and vision of Rita (pictured below) that made this all possible.
The newly opened pediatric unit with beds donated by Rotary.
The OR Team
The Stricklands in a mototaxi - The Tarapoto method of travel.
(above) Carlos (10 months old) before and after repair.
(above) Joaquin (2 months old) before and after.
Drs. Strickland, Guerrero, Stieg, and Dobson (picture on left)
Nestor de Armas (center) flanked by Orlando and Tarapoto team members
(picture on right)
Yucatan Cleft Clinic Dedication ~ 4 June 2011
SHARES has been involved in a very successful joint venture with the
Department of Health for the state of Yucatan, Rotary, DIF, and Hospital
General O'Horan. Yucatan Governor Ivonne Ortega held a news conference
commemorating this decade of cooperation, and to inaugurate the
multidisciplinary cleft clinic under the direction of Dr. Mary Flores.
Dr. Stieg and Dr. Flores first worked together in 2001, and this was
their eighth time working together to help the children of the Yucatan.
This June, Dr. Stieg was part of the tenth anniversary SHARES mission trip
to Merida, Mexico. 78 patients were seen and 49 were operated
on, receiving a total of 68 procedures. Diane from our office was also part of the team, as was Dr. Stieg's daughter, Gretchen, a medical
student at the University of Cincinnati.
This was Dr. Stieg's 26th mission trip. A team of 19 from Florida
Hospital spent a week in the capital city of the Yucatan working with
colleagues from Mexico working in the brand new outpatient facility at
Hospital General O'Horan, which also houses the new multidisciplinary
Cleft Clinic.
The SHARES Team worked in partnership with Rotary (especially Neuvas
Generations in Merida), the Yucatan Department of Health, Hospital General
O'Horan, DIF (public health for the Yucatan), and Dr. Mary Flores (Plastic
Surgeon) and her team.
The images below are of five week old Angel DeJesus, 5 month old with a
complete left cleft lip and palate pre-op and then post-operatively with Gretchen.
Dr. Stieg (right) with SHARES Coordinator Jessily (left) and Yucatan DIF director Jose
(middle).
