The DU chapter of Global Medical Brigades hosted the fundraiser Heartbreak for Honduras last Friday night at South Philly Cheese Steaks to spread awareness about their group and raise funds for their upcoming spring break trip to Honduras.
Kicking off at 9 p.m., customers paid $5 to get into the restaurant and bar which went directly to the organization. From there, different specials were offered including hater-aid and heartbreak punch drinks from which the group received profits. The event was well attended with close to 200 people coming out to support the organization.
“The trip cost per person is on an individual basis, so the profits [from] Friday are only going to medical and dental supplies,” said Monica Thurston, a junior biochemistry major from Montrose and a member of the organization who will be going on the Honduras trip.
The organization will be providing essential health care to the San Lorenzo area of Honduras. According to the president, Hengyi Chen, a senior majoring in biology and psychology from Singapore, the organization will help to establish temporary medical and dental clinics. The students and doctors will see a few thousand patients during their stay.
Accompanying the students on their trip is Munni Selagamsetty, who is part of a family practice in Colorado Springs and Theresa Cheng, who is a dentist from Washington.
“This is a great opportunity for all the students involved, especially those interested in the medical and dental fields,” said Jason Desai, the Vice President of the organization. “There are sections to our clinic for all our students to get involved, and we will rotate positions as the week goes along.”
The different positions include intake, triage, medical, dental, public education and a pharmacy. As part of the medical clinic, patients will speak to brigadiers about their medical problems and history while the brigadiers check vitals and other tests as needed. A doctor then sees the patient in order to make a diagnosis and prescribe medication. The clinic will be equipped with a pharmacy to fill prescriptions. Patients will receive a 30-day supply of their prescribe medication. At the dental station, patients will get their teeth cleaned and depending on availability, some may be seen by a doctor who will ease pain associated with tooth decay.
Global Medical Brigades is student-oriented organization that is dedicated to worldwide health and sustainable development. They have 160 chapters in universities across the world and have a total of 4,000 members.
“Since 2004, Global Brigades has mobilized thousands of university students and professionals through nine skill-based programs that work in partnership with community members to improve quality of life in under resourced regions while respecting local culture,” said Desai.
In addition to the medical and dental brigade, DU has a public health brigade that helps communities and families improve their homes and living conditions by building water storage units, concrete floors and bathrooms. There is also a water brigade that helps communities to establish a sustainable water source. Each program will be going on a separate spring break trip to different regions in Honduras.
When the DU Global Medical Brigade leaves at the end of their spring break, the communities will expect the next brigade to arrive within a month.
“We as an organization don’t want to have a presence in the communities we work in forever,” said Desai. “We want to establish an infrastructure in the community, and train members within the community so that they can sustain what we have done once we are gone.”
Global Medical Brigades was founded on the DU campus by 2012 DU alum Brett Friedman in 2011. Phillip Danielson of the biology department is the faculty advisor to the organization. They have grown from 28 brigadiers that went on the first spring break trip in 2012 to 36 brigadiers who are signed up to go on the upcoming trip.
Any student can join the organization and does not have to be going into the medical field or have any medical training.
“Our members range in many degrees and majors,” said senior biology and psychology major Chris Doody from Grand Junction who is the public relations chair for the organization.
The best way to get involved is to attend weekly meetings on Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. in Olin. The room location varies according to availability; contact the organization at dumedbrigades@gmail.com for more information.
“This group is important to DU because Global Brigades is part of the world’s largest student led global health and sustainable development organizations,” said Doody. “Students should be interested because you get real hands on experience and it is something very unique to this organization.”
The group will be leaving on March 17 and returning March 24.
