Mission Summary:

-7 free successful surgeries for children by our team!(6 scoliosis, 1 spine trauma)
-4 physician lectures, 4 nursing lectures and 2 patient rooms and cast room decorated.
-We all worked very hard and in the end we found we were even more efficient than we have ever been.
-We have a very dedicated team of people many who return each year to volunteer for a week to help children who would never have the opportunity for surgery if we didn’t operate.

The POP team is lead by Dr. Mady Stazzone who has lead our group on 5 successful medical missions.

Our challenges for the week:

-Having access to only 1 operating room versus 2
-Working through and around renovations with limited supplies
-An c-arm machine stopped working that we used in the OR
-Our shipment with medical supplies for the hospital was not delivered during our medical mission
-We worked during a 3-day physician and nurse strike

Thank you to Dr. Migeul Luna and Iohan Fernandez our Dominican surgeons for working along side of us and for the ladies of the Volunteer Group for Jesus for the Children for their support each year. We could not be successful if they weren’t dedicated to helping us in their hospital.

Below are a few images that summarize our wonderful time working with the staff at the Hospital De NiÑo Arturo Grullón in Santiago, Dominican Republic.