Sunday, November 14, 2010

A mission to a tiny country

This week, doctors from the BIDMC Division of Urology are heading off to the Cape Verde Islands to provide a much needed service and to teach for future improvement in this area of care. Dr. Michael Kearney is leading the group.

The goal of this mission is to do an initial assessment of the need for urological specialty care, while diagnosing and possibly treating a number of patients while there. The team believes they will be seeing approximately 100 patients over 4 days.

But what I really like, too, is that our Interpreter Services Department offered to join in, selflessly concluding that this would be a great opportunity to assist in the development of this service.

In all, three BIDMC Cape Verdean interpreters, two Chief Residents from BIDMC, and one doctor from the Miriam Hospital, are joining Dr. Kearney on this mission.

Through the generosity of the Cape Verdean consulate in Boston, TACV airlines, the clinics in Cape Verde to be visited, and Nobidade TV media, expenses for travel will be kept to a minimum.

Please join me in wishing them all well.

3 comments:

Marcus Cazier said...

Mr. Levy,

I've enjoyed your blog for almost two years now, ever since I began my MHA program at Weber State University. This posting hit close to home, as I called Cape Verde home for 8 months in 1999.

Dr. Kearney,

Best of luck in your travels, and thank you for your generosity to such a kind and impoverished people. Might I suggest a custom-made ouril board to remember your trip? Ouril is Cape Verde's version of mancalla. My personalized "banco" is one of my most prized positions.

Anonymous said...

I'm happy to see humanity at it's best... Helping one person at a time, and providing help where it is most needed, and I'm sure appreciated.

I'm a native, and want to thank the interpreter services for their initiative in this endeavor, along with Dr Kearny for realizing the plans.
Hopefully, you will have enjoyed your trip, and this will become an annual, or bi-annual event, with the generosity of all who are able, and willing.
Thank you, Maria Carmen

Luis DaCosta said...

Thank you Mr. Levy,
I, as one of the Interpreters who had the priviledge and the luck to accompany Dr. Kearney, Dr. McDermott, Dr. Kacker, my colleague interpreter Bubacar Balde and also Carla Iozza, just want to thank you for this wonderful posting on your blog. I also would like to thank Pat McGovern and Shari Gomez(You are awesome!) who supported us tremendously and made this unforgetable trip possible. I also want to thank Ernestina, our lead for her wonderful support and also for contributing immensely to this mission. Also, many thanks to the rest of the Team who hung in tough while we were away.
The experience was unforgetable, gratifying, and amazing. Just to see the glow on the patients' eyes once they found out there was someone there to help them out was just so touching. We were able to do so much in a few days. We definitely need and would love to go back and make this an endless mission to a country in so much need. We'll need all the support we can get. Maybe next time we'll bring more doctors and more people to help.
Dr. Kearney, Dr. McDermott, Dr. Kacker-you guys are amazing and I want to thank you for everything.
Thank you,
Luis DaCosta
Interpreter Services
P.S. Let's do it again soon