Medical team treats Hondurans

PROVIDED BY JULIE PLUMMER

Dr. Baird Oldfield of Trident Health System assists a local resident of Honduras.

A team of employees with Trident Health System recently returned from a week-long medical mission trip to the Tualabe region of Honduras.

The Trident Health volunteer medical team set up clinics throughout the mountainous regions of Southwest Honduras and treated more than 800 people for a variety of maladies including ear infections, respiratory colds and intestinal worms.

Trident Health System comprises hospitals throughout the Lowcountry, including Trident Medical Center, Summerville Medical Center, Colleton Medical Center and Moncks Corner Medical Center.

This is the second year Trident Health System has participated in the medical mission trip in conjunction with Rivers of the World, a nonprofit Christian ministry that operates throughout remote river basins.

Medical logistics went much more smoothly the second time around, said P.J. Johnson, CEO of Summerville Medical Center. Clinics were set up in schools, churches and community centers.

"We could have a clinic up and running in about 15 minutes," Johnson said.

Last year, the medical team helped build a free-standing clinic in Honduras. This year, volunteers continued those efforts and laid one ton of concrete for the two-level structure.

Access to adequate health care continues to be a problem for many in Honduras, Johnson said. For many in the Tualabe region, the closest hospital is miles away.

Honduras is considered one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, according the World Bank's Web site. The stark poverty was a reminder for many on the team of how fortunate many Americans are, said Tony Glover, Trident Medical Center director of respiratory care service.

"The things we throw away, they could live off for a very long time," he said.

This was his first trip to Honduras. Glover hopes to return. Hondurans need basic things like cold medication and aspirin, he said. Glover encourages others to take part in a medical missions trip.

"To see how others in developing — Third-World — countries don't have basic necessities, we are truly blessed in the United States," Glover said.

Reach Jasiri Whipper at 745-5863 or jwhipper@postandcourier.com.