University of San Diego Medical/Dental - Environmental Brigades January 2015 Panama

Start Date: Jan 18, 2015 12:00 AM
End Date: Jan 26, 2015 12:00 AM

This trip is a 9-day hybrid of our Medical-Dental and Environmental Brigades.

Environmental Brigades provide student volunteers with the opportunity to gain first-hand experience in environmental management and education by empowering community members in rural communities. During brigades, volunteers spend time with environmental committees to better understand the region\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s pressing environmental concerns and potential for improvement. Through interactive workshops and the implementation of physical projects, student volunteers provide the education and physical assistance necessary for these families to sustain long-term behavioral change, which will benefit the well being of not only themselves, but their surrounding environment as well. As subsequent brigades build on each other, projects are continued through successive phases, year after year. Between brigades, our in-country team maintains relationships with our community leaders to ensure the continuation of projects started by brigades, and to provide follow-up on community members’ feedback as well as next steps.

During a medical brigade, volunteers have the opportunity to take vitals and patient history in triage, shadow licensed doctors in medical consultations, and assist in a pharmacy under the direction of licensed pharmacists. Each of our partner communities receives a brigade approximately twice a year. Between brigades, our in-country team maintains relationships with the communities to provide follow-up and to conduct Community Health Worker (CHW) trainings to empower local leaders to sustain a consistent level of healthcare. Electronic patient records are collected for future visitations and to monitor overall community health trends.