Retro update

Thanks to team 2, I have a laptop that now works! I just wanted to share a couple of pictures that I have taken with this entry.

Even though we had to stay another night, I guess the view isn't so bad. This is a typical morning I wake up to. Being that we are close to the equator, sunrises and sunsets are rather short. Nonetheless the view, simply put, is mesmerizing. The sun shines between 610 and 620 in the morning. It’s my alarm and has yet to fail me. The sun sets around 630 and usually queues our dinner time.

With entrees like this, how could you pass up sashimi? As mentioned on my previous blogs, I am not a seafood kinda person. I don't take well to fish or those heavy with the "ocean" taste. Funny how I can't seem to stop ordering this dish. Usually served with a side of steamed or fried rice, I don't think anyone could go wrong getting the tuna sashimi. Especially for the price (this dish was 5 bucks)!

Pohnpei state hospital was definitely a step up from Kosrae but still had some issues to work out. I know most of us in the health care field are very conscious of the HIPAA law and tread carefully not to violate them (for those of you who are not in health care, the HIPAA law requires health care workers to be sensitive to the privacy of patient information). Over here, the story does not hold true. I hear patient names over the PA intercom informing them which room to meet which physician. Also, our patients were informed of their appointments over the local radio! Though we did have a fair number of "no-shows," the radio was fairly effective in mass communication. Another method the hospital staff used was to tell neighbors to tell neighbors to tell neighbors so and so has an appointment. Most families don't have telephones so a call isn't feasible. (anyone try to visit the hospital website yet?)

Here is a shot of the room we were assigned. You can see Lori setting up in the distal part of the room while we saw patients on the left side by the metal stools. We tried to keep patient confidentiality but they often were about the room socializing with one another. There was no air conditioning but towards the end of our campaign we did have fans circulating which made a world of difference.

This is a shot of Genesis, a for profit hospital across the street from the Pohnpei State Hospital. This hospital only accepts patients with insurance. To my understanding, they do not favor pediatric patients (for reasons unclear to me) however they did refer a lot to the cardiology clinic. I wasn't able to see the inside of Genesis but as you can see from the picture, the building is fairly new. I understand some patients "game" the system in Pohnpei by acquiring medical attention at Genesis (with the idea that the quality of care is higher) and filling their prescription at the state hospital (free of charge for the patient).

This is group photo after Gira's lecture on rheumatic heart disease. Beginning from the left: Dr. Morchi (CARD), Dr. Morchi (ED), Lyndsay, Dr. Santiago, me, Carmen (RN), Dr. Lumuel, I dont know, and Princess (RN). We worked closely with Dr. Lumuel, Carmen, and Princess. Again, the room was filled and people were sitting outside the door to hear Gira's talk. Congratulations!

Our only team picture. Team two came 1 night before team one had to leave. This is a breakfast shot the day team one left the FSM. Great job team one! You guys changed the lives of 138 patients and their families!

 This gentleman prepared our bananas foster. This is my first time having it and it was very tasty! The show reminded me of Beni Hana's but better (not to mention I didn't smell like their food afterwards). I tried to catch an action shot and this was the best I could do.

The following pictures were added for scenic value =)