Ignatian Service Immersion to Corozal, Belize

Ignatian Service Immersion to Corozal, Belize

Anecdotes about my time as the first LUC MPH student in Corozal

Jasmine Swyningan, MPH-Epidemiology

I spent two weeks in Corozal, Belize on an Ignatian Service Immersion through Health Sciences Ministry at LUC. Dr. Judi Jennrich bravely led our trip, and helped us have fun along the way. This experience was invaluable – I had opportunities to provide service at 7 different health fairs in villages throughout the region, spent a week at Corozal Community Hospital assisting and learning wherever possible, and spent my second week with Vector Control and Public Health. I learned how to clean wounds and quickly relate to those around me; I learned how to detect potential mosquito-breeding sites and discuss Zika in an accessible manner, crossing language barriers; I learned how to utilize scarce resources; I learned about incredible pain tolerance; I learned patience.

 

Teaching jumping jacks and skipping at a health fair. Photo taken by Carline Dayon.

Teaching jumping jacks and skipping at a health fair. Photo taken by Carline Dayon.

How can I possibly condense my experience into one reflection? I’ll tell you two stories:

Transport

As the type-A individual I so proudly proclaim to be, I struggled greatly with the fact that I just had to…wait. “The vehicle is on the way.” “What time will it arrive?” “When it arrives.” There are two ambulances available to the Corozal Community Hospital. When patients needed surgery or other services beyond their capactiy, they were transferred to the regional hospital in Orange Walk, a bumpy 45-minute drive away. While I was in the maternity ward, I assisted a woman with a high-risk pregnancy. Her blood pressure was too high. Her baby was too big. Her Spanish language skills were limited (she spoke Creole). Once the nurses determined she needed the transfer, they made phone calls to coordinate the ambulance. Meanwhile, because records are taken by hand, these nurses/midwives/data analysts/ambulance coordinators took any available piece of paper and began to write notes about the patient. After 45 minutes of coordinating (and waiting), we were ready to go. Our patient was safely in the ambulance and the driver was swift – we’d go from 5mph to 55mph to 5mph in a matter of seconds. There are speed bumps in all of the main roads to help control traffic; our bodies were moving back and forth with the ambulance, and I cringed every time we came to a stop. Our patient braced herself and tried to remain calm with her catheter in place. When we arrived at the hospital, we were taken to a room full of nurses and doctors, a gorgeous display of the diversity that is Belize. Our patient’s primary doctor, the one we left her with, was a nice Cuban man who was confident in Spanish and cautious in English. Our patient was safely dropped off, and the nurse who led this endeavor stroked our patient’s belly with one hand and pointed to the sky with the other as she said, “It’s in His hands. You pray. You’re strong.” And we left. (Well, we waited outside for another 20 minutes calling for an ambulance to take us back to Corozal).

I found out the next day that our patient had a healthy baby via C-section; both are doing well.

In the ambulance, on our way to the regional hospital in Orange Walk.

In the ambulance, on our way to the regional hospital in Orange Walk.

“Zee-kiah”

I spent two days at a conference hosted by the Sustainable and Child Friendly Municipalities Initiative, UNICEF, Belize. Public Health, Vector Control, Community Health, school principals, and hospital associates (and me) joined together to discuss how quickly mosquitoes transmit disease, prime mosquito-breeding areas, and also traveled throughout the Corozal community, interviewing people about their knowledge of the disease. My Vector Control buddies were slightly disheartened to learn of a disconnect between what they’re saying to the community, and what the lay people are understanding. After we discussed how this information is incredibly useful – how Vector Control now knows where to guide their efforts and how to better communicate – the workshop concluded with the development of a task force to generate a Zika prevention and action plan for Corozal. As of this writing, there are NO confirmed cases of Zika, Malaria, Dengue, or Chikunguya in the region. I wanted to know more – what is Vector Control doing to be so successful?

They work as a team, as a family. They work WELL with the resources they have. They do what needs to be done; not for a raise (though it’d be nice), but because they are truly determined to inform the community about vector-borne disease and to prevent Corozal from becoming another statistic. I joined them for two days of field work throughout Ranchito, a small village outside of Corozal town. We knocked on doors, spoke about the transmission of Zika, distributed pamphlets, checked backyards for mosquito-breeding sites, eliminated said sites, provided larvicide whenever necessary, and documented every piece of data along the way. The job is dirty, dangerous (one could get bitten by a dog – or a duck(!) – at any moment, but that’s a story for another day), and necessary, and these guys handle challenges like pros. If someone is diagnosed with malaria, Vector Control goes to the house and provides medicine once a day – everyday – for the following two weeks. If someone needs a bed net, Vector Control provides one. If someone reports a fever, Vector Control will gather blood samples from everyone along the block to test for Malaria. If a group is hosting a health fair, Vector Control goes and speaks about Zika, Dengue, Chikungunya, and Malaria. I was impressed, humbled, and inspired by Vector Control and Public Health. I also made some really great friends.

Through my nerves of being the first MPH student to partake in an Ignatian Service Immersion, I gained so much perspective and greatly enjoyed seeing my coursework in action. Want to know more? Feel free to reach out to Health Sciences Ministry (HSDMinistry@luc.edu) about this and all of their immersion trips.

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One Response to Ignatian Service Immersion to Corozal, Belize

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