VOSH Southeast – Vieques, Puerto Rico
April 13th – April 20th 2019
Vieques, Puerto Rico is an island located 6 miles southeast from the main land with a population of 9,300 people. The island consists of 90% Hispanics and most speak both Spanish and English. In September 2017, Vieques was hit by hurricanes Irma and Maria, that devastated the island. This tragedy resulted in the only hospital shutting down, leaving the people of Vieques with minimal health care. Because of this tragedy VOSH Southeast lead a humanitarian aid trip in order to help the people of Vieques.
Adia McDuffey Walker SVOSH – IAUPR -Inter American University of Puerto Rico, School of Optometry invited Dr. John Spencer of VOSH Southeast, to Puerto Rico last year to discuss the option of having a joint optometry humanitarian aid trip along with the students of Optometry to the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico in 2019.
The idea for visiting Vieques in April 2019 started to develop after conversations with Dr. Hector Santiago IAUPR and Adia McDuffey IAUPR about the logistics of the trip and how the optometric students would be involved working with the Optometrists doctors from VOSH. Invitations were sent to volunteers of different backgrounds to be involved and the response was incredibly awe-inspiring. The team for the mission consisted of four optometrists, an ophthalmic assistant, three certified opticians, six students of IAUPR, three retired volunteers, one history teacher, three undergraduate students, one high school student, three business executives, one chef, and a swimming life coach.
The team was referred to Venus Hernandez, our host in Vieques, who started contacting hotels and was able to acquire in kind donations from the Wave Hotel and Casa de Amistad for accommodations, local restaurants that provided our meals, HIMA-San Pablo Hospital in San Juan for transportation services, the interpreters from the Boys’ and Girls’ Club, the municipality of Vieques who allowed us to use their beautiful service center to have our eye clinic and the local people who wanted to support the mission. Venus did a great job advertising the eye clinic across the island and making sure that everyone could attend this event, even the homeless.
The clinic opened for three and a half days from 7:30 am to 6:00 pm and was located in the service center of Vieques. The set-up of the clinic consisted of the following stations: Registration of the patients, visual acuities, eye pressure test, dilation, blood sugars, blood pressure, refraction, disease/internal exam, dispensing, and ordering of glasses. The team of the six students from IAUPR did an amazing job caring for the patients and learning . They also were able to work as a team and making sure that every patient was helped with their eye care needs.
The VOSH SE team provided free eye examinations for 1,218 patients and new sunglasses for the majority of them. We dispensed readers to those in need of near vision focus. With the collaboration of Essilor, one of the world’s largest lab in America, we were able to provide patients with the necessary prescription eyewear. Essilor Vision Foundation provided extraordinary support with the donations of approximately 432 prescription glasses (frames and lenses) through the Changing Life Through Lenses program. A local San Juan Lab, Caribe Opti Lab, also filled 63 complex spectacle prescriptions and provided a generous discount. Patients will obtain their eyeglasses approximately one month after the mission and the glasses will be dispensed at the service center in Vieques with the help of IAUPR optometry students and faculty and Venus Hernandez.
The patients with eye disease such as cataracts, glaucoma, diabetes, and pterygium were referred to an ophthalmology clinic on the main land of Puerto Rico. Those patients were provided with eye drops and artificial tears. The patients were also educated by Dr. Mario Paulino, a local physician, on the prevention and follow up for their specific disease based on their blood sugar levels and blood pressure taken at the clinic, and overall eye condition. Dr Paulino spent a vast amount of time during the clinic with each patient making sure they understood the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and diet and controlling their diabetes and hypertension.
One of the most unforgettable experiences was the patient recognition and appreciation. Patients would stop us when we were walking around town to say thank you; they expressed that they felt forgotten after the hurricane disasters. This made us feel like a part of the community and it helps to understand the impact of doing a mission in a place like Vieques. We were welcomed as one of them, we’re part of the bigger picture and a larger family tree because of the connection with them.
The team had opportunities to enjoy the beauty of the island, its secluded beaches, ocean views, delicious island cuisine, snorkeling, and kayak tours of Bioluminescent Bay (or Mosquito Bay) where microorganisms give the water a blue-green glow. We also learned of the interesting history and culture of this amazing island and its people.
There are many people and organizations to thank for the success of this mission in Vieques including the generous monetary donations received from the following: The Harbor Church, SuEllen Brauer, Mariex Farms, Carolyn Kay Hesse, Bruce and Corianne Coyle, David and Jayne Goos, Mark and Jody Holmes, Dennis and Arlene Dobesh, Iowa Church members, Andres and Adrienne Torre, and Thomas and Teresa Hayden; these donations funded the purchase of glasses. Thank you to Mission Matters – Allina Health and National Vision for their financial support. We also grateful for the generous donation of sunglasses from EyeStyles Optical, frame trays from Dave Rogers of Westgroupe, reading glasses, sunglasses and frames from RestoringVision.org and National Vision, glasses cases from Allina Health, organizational support from Susan Stees of VOSH Southeast, equipment lending from VOSH/International and equipment repair from Walman Instruments. Again our partnership with Essilor Vision Foundation and Caribe Opti Lab and all of the above cannot be underestimated.
None of this could be possible without the dedication of the outstanding volunteers involved with the Vieques eye care clinic, from various educational and professional backgrounds for preparing for the mission, for caring for the patients and learning new skills, for translating and so much more. Everyone and their skills played an integral role in the success of this campaign. Of note, this was SuEllen Brauer’s 20th VOSH mission! Congratulations SuEllen!
Volunteers:
John Spencer OD, Clinic director and co-lead
Lisa Weber OD
Andres Torre OD
Thomas Hayden OD
Dennis Kimmel COT
Pilar Lozano ABOC, co-lead
Pafoua Yang ABOC
Gloria Torson ABOC
SuEllen Brauer
Dana Garvey
Jeff Hommes
Marta Latorre
Greta Peterson
Beth Peterson
Dee Ann Ross
Julian Spencer
Cece Spencer
Adrienne Torre
Molly Weber
Terri Hayden
Irina Yakubin, Optometry Student IAUPR
Amy Rojo, Optometry student IAUPR
Binu Koruthu, Optometry student IAUPR
Ume Chowhan, Optometry Student IAUPR
Estefany Colon Lopez, Optometry Student IAUPR
Gabriela Maldonado Torres,Optometry Student IAUPR
