Life is always challenging for a child living with a chronic illness. Still, it’s particularly hard in places where healthcare resources are scarce. Because of people like you, children and mothers around the world gain access to quality health care from skilled volunteer medical professionals who do additional training with local clinicians on current best practices. Without Global Healing’s Roatan Volunteer Pediatric Clinic (RVPC), children with threatening health conditions may not receive the life-saving care they need. Joel, who lives on the island of Roatan in Honduras, was diagnosed with a medical condition that affects his red blood cells. This condition… read more →
Global Healing is fortunate to have had many wonderful volunteers and supporters over the years. In December 2018 we will say farewell, and an enormous thank you, to one of our most dedicated: Alice Gruber, who will be retiring from the board after nearly 15 years with the organization. After Global Healing board member Dr. Arup Roy-Burman saw the need for outpatient pediatric care on the Honduran Bay island of Roatán and established the Roatán Volunteer Pediatric Clinic (RVPC) with Global Healing in 2003, he needed volunteers to get it up and running. He soon met Alice Gruber, a pediatric nurse, and… read more →
From Manhattan Island to the Bay Islands of Honduras: One Pediatrician’s Experience is a Study in Contrasts Upon arriving in Roatán to spend four weeks with Global Healing last January, Dr. Jamila Williams was struck by the beauty of the island. Surrounded by warm Caribbean waters and dotted with tropical hilltops, Roatán is the largest of the Bay Islands of Honduras, drawing tourists from around the world. In stark contrast to the lush surroundings, public health resources are extremely limited on the island, with only one public hospital and two public outpatient clinics for a population that can reach 80,000.… read more →
Update from February: Joel continues to have improving health with increased tolerance of activity and greatly improved breathing. He had been receiving nightly infusions of chelation therapy to remove excess iron from his body. His improvement is related to decreased iron deposition in his vital organs such as his heart and liver. Joel did have lymph node infections in his groin secondary to frequent needle placement in his thighs for the nightly infusion. Although Joel and his family were doing a vigilant job of placing the needle under clean conditions it is not surprising that infection was a risk without running… read more →
Her first morning in Roatán, Honduras, Lia Thompson stood on the island’s one paved road at 7 a.m. hailing a taxi. “I was a little overwhelmed at first,” Lia says with a laugh, “but it’s actually really easy. You just stand on the side of the road you want to go down. It’s a cool little island.” Soon enough, a cab came along and took Lia to the Roatán Volunteer Pediatric Clinic (RVPC), where she would spend the next five weeks as a Health Education & Advocacy Liaisons (HEAL) intern. A health science major at Furman University in South Carolina,… read more →
As we gear down from our trip to Honduras this past week, we want to introduce you to an incredible man working to provide pediatric surgeries in Roatán, Honduras, an island where much of the population has scarce resources and limited skilled medical attention. It’s a tragedy when children don’t have access to timely surgical care when there is a need. Fortunately, there are people who are working hard to change this. Pediatric surgeon Dr. Enrique Tomé is one of those people. He supports the amazing work done by other Global Healing volunteers by performing surgeries on an average of… read more →
Global Healing: looking to 2018. It’s Halloween, so we’ll come out and say it: change can be scary. Here at Global Healing and at our program sites around the world, lots of changes are underway. Rather than spooked, we’re excited for what’s to come. You will be, too, when you read about the new people, practices and projects we’re involved with into next year to improve care for children and mothers worldwide. NEW PEOPLE From the tiniest of patients to new mothers, our team of committed volunteers prepare local medical staff to provide healing care to children and mothers in… read more →
Our Fall 2017 Newsletter celebrates the generosity of our volunteers and supporters. As a result of their selfless acts of giving, better healthcare is available to children and mothers in need. These stories are a small way to share our gratitude for their work. Read on to learn about their impact: View on Mobile Device>>
We’re thrilled to introduce you to Casey Jereb, our new HEAL Internship Coordinator. She will be inheriting the role from Will Yokeley, who has generously volunteered his time over the past five years to engage and support student interns volunteering at the Roatán Volunteer Pediatric Clinic (RVPC) through our Health Education & Advocacy Liaisons program. After completing her undergraduate studies at UC Davis in Environmental Toxicology with a medical emphasis, Casey applied to volunteer at the Roatán Volunteer Pediatric Clinic (RVPC) in 2016. While she had been thinking about pursuing a career in medicine, her mind was not completely made… read more →
Written by Dr. Simone Bennett, Global Healing volunteer and Advisory Board member. Getting to know the Public Hospital Roatán I was not sure what to expect when I first showed up at the Roatán Public Hospital to volunteer in the newborn wards and pediatric clinic. Having spent time in hospitals in developing countries before, I had an idea what I might find. However, despite knowing that I was in Honduras and resources would be poor, I was surprised to find how lacking they were given that not far away was a beautiful Caribbean resort with full amenities serving hordes of… read more →