|
Cuban
doctor visits DeVos Children's Hospital
By Rachael Ruiz. WOOD-TV,
MI. August 28, 2003.
(Grand Rapids, August 27, 2003, 6:26 p.m.) Politically,
Cuba and the United States don't see eye to eye.
But when it comes to saving lives, there is common
ground. For the first time, a local aid organization
has brought a Cuban doctor to DeVos Children's
Hospital.
The group First-Hand Aid has visited Havana
14 times. But this is the first time anyone from
Cuba has come here. First-Hand Aid says it's a
good investment in saving lives.
Dr. Edie Caballero has been shadowing Dr. Deanna
Mitchell, a pediatric oncologist, as she treats
patients. Dr. Caballero's been in Grand Rapids
for one month. But you can't imagine how much
that means until you've seen Cuba.
"It would be like walking into a hospital
in the 50's in the United States," says Marc
Bohland, Vice President of First-Hand Aid. He
says one of the group's main goals is getting
medicine to hospitals and clinics in Cuba.
Medicines like aspirin and cough syrup, which
are easy for us to get, are difficult to obtain
there. Instead of private rooms, numerous patients
are kept in a room together. Parents often perform
nursing duties. And many patients who stay overnight
bring their own bedding from home. While Bohland
says the doctors are extremely educated, they
don't have the tools or technology.
"I was impressed with what they were doing
with fewer resources," says Dr. Mitchell.
That's the reason for Dr. Caballero's visit,
sharing knowledge, something money can't buy.
"We do a great deal for the Cubans, but I
think the Cubans do a great deal for us teaching
us about what we have here," say Bohland.
If you'd like to get a hold of someone at First-Hand
Aid, call (616) 363-2333.
|
