VCOM 2017 Annual Report

inspired by caring

El Salvador

inspired by those devoted to caring

V COM first began caring for patients in El Salvador in 2003, shortly after the 2001 earthquake that left over 100,000 homeless. With poor housing conditions, sanitation, and water contamination that followed, the country has struggled to recover. Over the years, VCOM faculty and students have focused on improving healthcare for the people of El Salvador, and have developed friendships and partnerships to support these efforts. The partnership VCOM created with the University Evangelica in El Salvador (UEES), a medical school and a nursing school, led to UEES providing over 40 medical students to serve as translators during VCOM outreach trips. Students from both institutions have the chance to learn together and from one another through the Global Seminar Program, an

the community. VCOM hires and trains faculty who, along with students, provide care for Santo Thomas and surrounding communities through the clinic,

annual videoconference event encouraging students to share knowledge and address global health challenges. Through outreach in El Salvador, VCOM met the Benner family, who devoted their lives to caring for the orphans and children in need in El Salvador. For 20 years, the Benner family has maintained an orphanage and operated a primary grade school for the Santo Thomas community. Terry Benner, President of the AMILAT Foundation, along with VCOM President Dixie Tooke- Rawlins, DO, and Dean Sutphin, vice provost for international and Appalachian outreach, worked together to plan a sustainable healthcare clinic for the community, and in 2011 began construction. Today, through the collaboration of VCOM, the AMILAT Foundation and Terry Benner, a sustainable primary care clinic is open for

orphanage and school. VCOM provides care for

many rural populations of El Salvador, including those in the mountainous communities of Chalatenango, a northern region of the country. In 2011, VCOM began a partnership with the Decameron Resort, a local hotel company, to improve healthcare in rural communities between San Salvador and the ocean. The program provides examinations, preventive care, and primary care interventions for children from two rural schools and their families. As a benefit to VCOM outreach programs, the Decameron Resort provides interpreters, housing, and other support for students and faculty on outreach trips.

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