Club Meeting – June 23rd, 2016
Delmas J. Bolin, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor / Division of Sports Medicine at Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine presented his program titled “VCOM and Central American Medical Missions”.
Dr. Bolin spoke to the Club about the Global Health program at VCOM, which provides care to underserved and disadvantaged populations in isolated rural areas of the Caribbean and Central America. Dr. Bolin’s specialties are Family Medicine and Sports Medicine. On these missions he uses all his medical knowledge to treat the wide range of medical needs encountered by his teams.
VCOM is committed to a sustainable approach to international outreach. VCOM partners with medical schools for the free exchange of education and ideas, leading to improvements in quality of care in the country by both schools. To assure ongoing care for a population, VCOM works with the Ministry of Health to partner on preventive medicine programs, national health clinics and sustainable improvements for health facilities. VCOM also partners with other non-profit foundations to combine resources and efforts for the greatest impact.
In the Dominican Republic, VCOM partners with Punta Cana Foundation and USAID programs as well as with the Ministry of Health to operate a year round clinic in a poor area of Veron. The goal of this partnership is to carry out prevention campaigns in the region and to provide ACLS, ATLS and first responder training.
In Honduras, VCOM partners with Baxter Institute to provide a sustainable clinic for a poor neighborhood in Tegucigalpa and to carry out various preventive medicine and primary care campaigns with follow-up through that facility.
In El Salvador, VCOM partners with Evangelical University, the Ministry of Health and three local orphanages to provide ongoing care for orphaned children, a program for young mothers and to provide ongoing care to a remote village.
Dr. Bolin closed with a story of a man in a wheel chair who came to their temporary clinic in an isolated rural area. The young man was not the only member of his family struck by a disease which left him unable to walk. After a hike up a hill to visit his home, Dr. Bolin met the mother who cared for two crippled children. Dr. Bolin showed a picture of the siblings in their wheel chairs. He said look closely. We then noted the Rotary logo on one of the wheel chairs.
Dr. Bolin wanted us to see the end results of Rotary’s efforts in the world. To give us a real world glimpse of how “your passion and perseverance create lasting change”. Thank you Dr. Bolin for your thoughtful gesture and making a difference in the world.
