Mexico
"What Do the People Here Need?"
Amy Eilertsen in Hildago drawing names for the solar oven donation.
It is a question that continues to be asked by DHMC nurses and nursing professionals who have been traveling to Mexico as part of the MEX-AMbulance Project that was founded by John Markowitz, LNA, of the DHMC Emergency Department. For 11 years, Markowitz and D-H Nursing colleagues have led an ongoing medical mission serving the country's impoverished Puebla region.
The focus of the group's effort has been to refurbish a 1960 Mercedes Unimog military truck into a working ambulance, and to transport it from Phoenix, Ariz., to a Red Cross center in Tlachichuca, Mexico. The group has also delivered vehicle parts for the Unimog, stretchers, medical supplies, flap hats and sweaters, and computers and Internet access to Tlachichuca and surrounding mountain villages.
In 2009, the group introduced seven Solar Oven Society (SOS) ovens to families in the area. Amy Eilertsen, MN, RN, BC, Continuing Care Manager in Employee Health and Wellness, who journeyed with the group in 2004 and 2009 said the solar ovens will help to preserve the native forest and cut down on the use of propane, a major expense for villagers. She also collected basic IV supplies to donate to the village. As community service and altruistic endeavors are part of the heart and soul of nursing, the group is planning future trips.
For more information on the MEX-AMbulance Project, visit http://www.mexambulanceproject.net/.
