Isn't it funny how the fun is what gets talked about when you write home. We also got lots of work done in Timor! Casey and I were able to meet with many health care providers, educators, students and NGO staff. We have collected dataon the duration if stay and number of primary healthcare providers, a comprehensive list of all healthcare related NGO work, both for the past decade. We are working on getting the demographic and health data for the country from 2003 and the most recent not yet published data as well from 2009 and the 2010 census data. Once we get these together it will be possible to lookat what works and what is most cost effective in a developing country in terms of improving health status. In 2000 there were essentially no doctors and no functioning hospitals or even clinics in the entire country.
Here are some pictures of us at work:
We met with the Cuban Ambassador and the leader of the Cuban Medical Brigade in Timor to get their cooperation to obtain the data on primary care in rural areas.They were very helpful. In photo the First Secretary, Casey, Cuban Ambassador Vazquez, Frank, Head Physician of the Cuban Medical Brigade, Dr Remanya.
After Dili we went to Baucau, the second largest city.
This is the main entrance to the hospital, Dr. Ozman is the Chief of Staff an intensivist and Dra Celestrin is a dermatologist. Notice the "No Kaleshnikoff's" sign on the door behind Casey. Very clean, efficient outpatient and inpatient programs. Lots of TB and other infectious diseases. No diabetes, lots of hypertension.
After a tour of the hospital we drove to a small rural clinic nestled under the second larges
mountain in Timor ( Mt Matebian ). Casey had rented a motorcycle and driven to Mt Ramalau a few days before we left on this trip and climbed to the top of Timor's tallest
mountain. Atthe clinic we met a young, very earnest physician from Cuba, Dr Acarda. We also saw the ambulance that takes patients from this suco (village) down to the hospital in Baucau. It is hard to appreciate in this photo but the back window has a large hole in it. Not a good sign for the very dusty roads of Timor. More seriously it also had no gasoline. It was one of two times that there were situations where for want of gasoline for the ambulance seriously ill patient were not able to get to a facility with more comprehensive services, leaving care to the isolated doctors on their own.
We went from spirited discussion in the rural areas back to Baucau about how to manage the protein malnourished children there that day to a visit to the medical school where we saw students with little more than and mosquito net and a few note books taking turns on some very dated computers.
They were very earnest and the teachers with both skilled and knowledgeable in both medicine and pedagogy. We attended a lecture and then saw the students rooms
. When I had to use the bathroom there there was a moment of quiet embarra
ssment as only one of the 4 toilets was in working condition.
The medical school is one of the places that you simply want to
do all that you can to help with. The students are eager and very bright the faculty are valiant in their efforts to help these young minds mature into seasoned healers.
We went to Los Palos a place that was where the brunt of the Indonesian represion took place because it was one of the more remote regions and the cradle of the revolutionary army that over time helped to make the country free.
Once we left the hospital and medical school in Baucau we made our way (after a day of rest on the beach!) to Los Palos. the pictures above are photos of that visit where we met Dra Ovalis and the other medical staff as well as some Timorese medical student. They currently are training in the clinics and hospitals doing rotations where they double as translators and medical students all at once.
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