The District is matching donations made to RI’s Annual Fund/SHARE account again this year. For a limited time any single, one-time donation between $250 and $500 will be matched! Please let Jennifer know if you’d like to take advantage of this offer.

Ellen Hunt introduced our speaker, Dr. Raymond Harshbarger, who spoke about an El Salvador Cleft Lip/Palate program he recently returned from that was partially funded by a Rotary Global Grant sponsored by our Club.

Dr. Harshbarger began by stating that this is his first time attending a Rotary meeting in the U.S., and he’s only attended Rotary meetings in El Salvador. He then spoke about the Lancet Commission, which is a group who focuses on global medical problems and surgeries. Their focus began on medicine but they soon realized that there needs to be a more concentrated need on surgical needs, including post-surgical care.

Learn more about Dr Harshbarger’s work HERE

Raymond showed a world map highlighting areas where surgical care was regularly provided and those where there is limited or no access. Unsurprisingly, Africa has the worst access to surgical care. Studies conducted by the Lancet Commission show that, when taking into account availability, safety, affordability and timeliness, more than 5 billion people lack access which is more than double their previous estimates.

Statistics include: In low to middle income countries surgical volume is just 6% of the total global volume; there is a growing need for more than 143 million procedures per year just to achieve the global volume; the estimated cost of surgical expansion (2015-2030) is $350 billion compared with total projected GDP losses (2015-2030) exceeding $12.3 trillion; and 28-32% of the global burden of disease is from substandard surgical conditions.

Dr. Harshbarger explained that there are three models of care: vertical, horizontal and oblique. Vertical is the “classic” model where doctors fly in to the country that needs help, they do the work and then they fly out; Horizontal emphasizes teaching/training of in-country staff and not necessarily doing the work for them; and Oblique is the preferred method and is a combination of both vertical and horizontal and is designed to allow countries to continue the work on their own after initial help is provided.

Raymond is now a part of Austin Smiles. Austin Smiles has been doing mission trips for over 30 years with a protocol that involves visiting communities 6 weeks before surgery so doctors can meet the patients and provide any pre-surgical recommendations; scheduling/performing the surgeries; followed by subsequent visits to check back in on the patients about a month after surgery. The ongoing development in El Salvador is focused on education funded by a Rotary Global Grant including: Fellowship training and ASMS basic course; Equipment enhancements including a plating system in the hospital; Multidisciplinary craniofacial clinics; Tele-clinics with teams of doctors in the United States; and Sustainability with the development of an independent foundation.

Dr. Harshbarger reported that he was part of the military for 8 years and worked in the Dominican Republic. He decided to focus on lip/palate corrective surgeries, held extensive patient screenings and worked with local physicians. He concluded with special thank-you’s to Ellen Hunt, Lisset Burgos Castro and Victor Miguel Silhy.

Next week we’ll hear from the Rotary Group Youth Exchange students who have recently returned from Australia. President Bill thanked Alison Michels (Evolve 360 Realty) for supporting our newsletter, and we stood to close the meeting with Gary Gerstenhaber leading us in saying the Four Way Test.