Vietnam Medical Mission: September 2016 – Day 1

Greetings from Vietnam! The team has arrived in Ha Giang and is settled in. Today, we visited the village of Linh Ho with the expectation of treating only 100 patients; however, we were greatly surprised by the number of people who arrived seeking medical attention for a number of chronic and acute health problems. Our team was able to treat 178 patients today in various capacities!

The population of the Linh Ho village is made up of mostly farmers and field workers. Our team witnessed many complaints of osteoarthritis, dehydration, back pain, poor dental hygiene, and chronic constipation. We were very fortunate to have Mollie, our physical therapist, work with our chronic pain patients and educate them on ways to improve their quality of life with exercising and stretching. Our providers, Art and Jordan, not only provided care to patients with chronic needs, but also treated a variety of acute conditions such as fungal ear infections, eye infections related to cellulites, and skin rashes.

Despite hot and humid conditions, the entire team moved right along without complaint, perfecting a clinic workflow that will enable us to see patients efficiently and keep up with the large demand. Overall, we made a very positive impact on the Linh Ho community and we are resting up and planning for second day of clinic at tomorrow!