(PORTLAND, ORE. - Nov. 15, 2007) Five medical volunteers, three of them from Oregon, leave this Saturday to provide urgent assistance to flood victims in southern Mexico. Dr. Steve Boyer, an emergency room physician from Portland, will lead Medical Teams International's relief efforts in Villahermosa. More than two weeks after the catastrophic floods, nearly 50 percent of this capital city remains under water.
Dr. Boyer also has served in Darfur, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Liberia and Uganda with Medical Teams International. Additional Oregon volunteers include Dr. Brett Johnson of Tillamook, and nurse Otto Gonzalez of Bay City. A nurse from the Seattle area and a physician assistant from Maine are also part of the team. The volunteers will carry in $40,000 in medicines.
Medical Teams International is working with local churches, the Mexican government, and the Ministry of Health to help with the second wave of the flood disaster: combating water-borne illnesses and communicable diseases that run rampant in homeless shelters and in houses where stagnant water remains.
Three volunteers will provide medical care for hundreds of families living in temporary shelters. Team members also will travel to remote villages where the floods washed out roads and bridges.
"Doctors from around Mexico have been critical in helping evacuees in the first days of the disaster," says Joe DiCarlo, who returned this week from Medical Teams International's Mexico office. "Because these physicians are now returning home, it's critical that our volunteers help meet the gap in care." Local doctors with Medical Teams International's Mexico City office also are assisting with the flood response.
A shipment of medicines valued at $680,000 is scheduled to arrive in Villahermosa this Friday. Collaborating with Johnson & Johnson and MAP International, the container of antibiotics, bandages and pain relievers will be distributed to shelters where an estimated 150,000 people are housed and will also re-supply destroyed hospitals.
Medical Teams International has been working in Mexico since 1985 when it first sent volunteer teams and medical supplies in response to the Mexico City earthquake.
To donate to the Mexico Flood Disaster fund, please call 1-800-959-4325, give online at our secure Web site www.medicalteams.org or mail gifts to PO Box 10, Portland, OR 97207. Donations can also be made at any U.S. Bank branch.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
