VCOM - Carolinas 2018 Yearbook

The Global Communities We Serve

El Salvador O ver the 2017-2018 academic year, 48

The VCOM–Carolinas medical team also visited the AMILAT Shalom Children’s Home and the Heart of Mary orphanage. At both children’s homes, the team provided snacks and goody bags. VCOM–Carolinas students were grateful for the opportunity to expand their medical experience while gaining intercultural sensitivity in and out of the clinic. The preceptors had the chance to impart much of their knowledge and experience to the student doctors. The outreach trip was inspiring for all those who gave their time to meet needs and make a difference for underserved communities in El Salvador.

Medicines not used on the trip were donated to VCOM’s clinic – Shalom Family Medical Center, as part of VCOM’s continuous care to local residents and international clinic network.

VCOM–Carolinas students served in El Salvador on 2 mission trips alongside a number of VCOM faculty and staff members. Each trip lasted one week, but over the course of these weeks the teams treated approximately 800 pediatric, adult and elderly patients, filling over 1700 prescriptions. Clinical activities in El Salvador included day trips to underserved areas in communities in San Salvador and Sonsonate. Regardless of the location, the group quickly assembled tents and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) tables to temporarily transform schools and churches into clinics.

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