VCOM 2020 Annual Report

INTERNATIONAL OUTREACH

EL SALVADOR

ShalomFamily Medical Center SANTIAGO TEXACUANGOS, EL SALVADOR

I n partnership with the El Salvador Ministry of Health, Universidad Evangélica de El Salvador (UEES) and the AMILAT (Asociación Amigos por Latinoamérica) Foundation, VCOM assists with the operation of the Shalom Family Medical Center. This clinic, located in an impoverished Santiago Texacuangos community near San Salvador, offers prenatal, pediatric, emergency and primary care services. Shalom Family Medical Center also provides care to a nearby school and orphanage, both operated by AMILAT. The clinic, which serves up to 70 patients per day, contains a laboratory and a pharmacy. Recently added laboratory equipment provides immediate results for patient consultations. The clinic also added a second ambulance and a complete blood count (CBC) machine, with additional funding secured for a backup generator and cervical cancer prevention equipment. The Universidad Evangelica de El Salvador (UEES), provides more than 40 medical students who collaborate and serve as interpreters during VCOM medical trips. Additionally, students from UEES and VCOM learn together through the Global Seminar Program, an annual course that encourages the sharing of knowledge between countries about global health challenges.

Since opening this VCOM-affiliated clinic in 2016, basic primary care and pediatrics services have rapidly expanded. 2019 Clinic enhancements include: • Complete Blood Count (CBC) and related equipment that provide lab results for immediate patient care • A fully implemented Clinical Rotation Evaluation and Documentation Organizer (CREDO) for electronic record reporting • A second ambulance to provide service to government health clinic in exchange for childhood vaccination services at VCOM-affiliated clinic • Added dental services with a full-time dentist and dental assistant

• A nutritionist added to the staff roster

• Colposcopy and cryotherapy equipment for cervical cancer prevention program

• A backup generator installed for the Clinic

• A trip for eight members of Shalom medical staff to visit the Baxter Clinic (page 61) to collaborate and exchange ideas

Left to right: Teri A. Benner, President of AMILAT; Dr. Pedro Solano, Director of Shalom Family Medical Center; César Quinteros, Rector of the Universidad Evangélica de El Salvador (UEES); Dr. Zaira Alvarado, Primary Care and Pediatrics at the Shalom Family Medical Center.

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