Group 1: Panama Day 4

Group Blog for Group 1 in Hostal Amador Familiar with Mr. Mejias
Written by Janine Villot
Contributors include Janine Villot, Kristen Corpion, Robyn Sagal, Kathleen Pombier, Linnea Eberhart, Shannon Stewart, Stephanie Leombruno, Sayeef Mirza, Jonathan Casanas, Richard Slama, Billy Halaby, Shivani Alamo, Liza Dolhenko, Amanda Rutter, and Michelle Blanco.


On Tuesday, we took a tour of Hospital de Nino, the largest, most important hospital in all of Panama. This was made obvious by how clean and modern it looked, especially in comparison to the Policentro Medico we visited on Monday. We were seated in a small boardroom with a tiny model of the hospital Signs in the front of the hospital proclaimed numerous and prestigious donors. As it´s name suggests, the hospital is devoted to pediatrics (and women). They have been running since 1950 and as a separate entity since 1958. Many forms of pediatric care are offered, from emergency medicine to mental health to nephrology, hematology, cardiology, radiology, gastrology, oncology, and almost every ¨-ology¨ imaginable.

Hospital de Nino is known for its transparency with its budget across Panama. Due to how well-organized and accountable they are, they receive many large donations. They have a new cat scanner, elevators (wich the Policentro did not have), a volunteer area, an education center for long-term patients, computers for the children to use, and many rooms and walls decorated colorfully and artistically. However, this public hospital suffers from similar problems as the Policentro. It had stains on some of the walls and furniture, as well as poor maintenance on their signage. It was also crowded, and more than a few places lacked the sterile, clean smell we associate with hospitals in America. Trends of medical cases at the hospital indicate a high incidence of AIDS and tuberculosis. Despite all the garbage lying around Panama, studies indicate this does not increase illness, at least.

What was most interesting in Hospital de Nino is that they group children not by illness or injury, but by the region they come from. While certain cases that are contagious may be separated, grouping people by their home region helps build community and allows the parents to work together and help each other out with lodging, food, expenses, and returning home. They also have a new program where they try to get the patients to question their diagnoses and be more active in their health care--to this end, the patient´s bill of rights was displayed on every floor. They also denied McDonald´s the opportunity to build a restaurant in their hospital, instead taking donations--a protest not heard in American hospitals.

Following the visit to the hospital and lunch at Niko´s Cafe, we went for our last day at Nutre-Hogar. Some of the children had gone home, and they were napping when we arrived. We did yard work for some time, raking leaves and cleaning toys, then spent time with the children before feeding them. On the second day, many of us noticed the illnesses we had not noticed before. One baby seemed to suffer from encephalitis, and many had worrying chest congestion, though the teachers assured us they had seen physicians. Almost all had colds and diarrhea. Disability is common for many of them, and we can only hope they continue to receive a high level of care after leaving Nutre-Hogar. The babies really warmed up on the second day and took to playing happily with all of us. After feeding them, we put them down in their cribs and then most of us left to buy requested donations for Nutre-Hogar and Casa Esperanza with the money we had fundraised. Some stayed at Nutre-Hogar to continue to help, and they gained a new perspective.

Individual feelings on the matter of Nutre-Hogar differ. Stephanie felt much sadder leaving the children, as they are in a bad situation and there´s no guarantee they will get better when they go home. She also noticed a lot more health issues amongst them. Amanda felt awkward, as if some of the workers did not want us there, as if we were intruding, as they had their arms crossed and seemed very aloof. (Mr. Mejias assured us that the teachers, at least, appreciated our visit.) Kristen agrees with Stephanie and felt sad upon leaving, as she knows there are not enough helpers to give the children the individual attention and emotional support they need. Kathleen felt better prepared to leave the babies behind as opposed to the day before, when their wailing caused many of us to to become emotionally upset. She stills feels leaving was unfortunate and would like to go back, as she feels our work was important. Linnea thought it was better on the second day, as her baby interacted more and she was prepared for it.

Rich felt shellshocked at first due to the babies´situations, but on the second day, he looked to do what we needed to and felt it was great work. Shannon still felt it was hard to leave the babies on the second day, but she´s happy with the work we´ve done and felt cleaning was important. She thinks we did what we could with the time and materials we had. Shivani found it extremely hard to say good-bye, as dealing with the babies struck a deep emotional chord within her. Michelle thought the second day was better, as her baby smiled, which she felt was a breakthrough. The lack of crying on the second day made it easier on her to part. Mr. Mejias felt much better after expressing his emotions on the first night, as he could contextualize the events as a moment in life, and he was more emotionally guarded. He visited each child and spoke with the mother of one of the children and some of the workers.

At first, Billy did not feel sad, but as he spent more time with the children, he did feel a little emotional. He took it into perspective, as there are many babies in this situatuion, and taking this all on our shoulders would be too emotionally draining. Sayeef felt more intellectually prepared after our first night´s reflection, and he found the second day less hurtful. He also takes the events into perspective and reasons that volunteering our time is a positive experience. Liza felt more attached on the second day, as she played with the same baby who interacted with her more. She felt they were not socialized properly, and wishes there were more people to help since the baby will be left largely alone after this week.

John felt more attached as the baby he watched was very likeable, and the second day increased the connection they had, which was deeper than he expected. Robyn felt the second day was much harder, as she has not had a lot of experience with babies, and this really touched her. Janine was a bit more emotionally guarded and is more concerned with the larger societal issues surrounding malnourished and neglected children in Panama, as well as the contextual problems surrounding the children´s lives beyond Nutre-Hogar.

We will spend our next day thinking about how this experience has affected us personally and how this will inspire us (or not) in our futures. Mr. Mejias spoke to the mother of a little girl at Nutre-Hogar named Adelaida, who needs to go to Louisiana to receive surgery. In order to accompany her daughter, this mother needs roughly three thousand dollars, and Adelaida cannot go until her mother has this money. All of us would like to think of ways to help this mother in the near future, even after our course ends.