Medical Blitz in the prison

Panama Health Project

Hello to all of you. A bit odd to be writing now about our medical blitz in the prison on March 14th, but things really took off around that time with all the organizing and preparing for it, followed by its aftermath. Then with returning home, taking a breather for a few days before going back to work! Then of course, the passing of Fr Al, the inspiration behind all of this project. All this to say that, well, it's now May 3rd and I'm writing about a great medical blitz that took place in Nueva Esperanza Prison in Colon on March 14th, 2009. ..

What a great day it was!! First off I must offer my deepest gratitude to Natty and Maria, in Colon, who did a wonderful job of getting all the necessary paperwork done so that the medication we brought would enter the country without any problem. This, of course, is to accompany the professional and proper paperwork that Health Partners International of Canada gives us with the quality medications they provide for the people we serve. One cannot have enough paperwork to substantiate what we are doing and we sure appreciate all the support we get from Natty and Maria as we make our plans to ener the country with pharmaceutical goods. Natty and Maria are two dedicated parishioners at Miraculous Medal Church in Colon who have been the backbone of the prison ministry in Fr Al's absence over the past 2 years. Without them, the ministry would have surely dwindled and perhaps even died.

Upon arriving in Colon there was much sorting of the medications, researching and translating of information on medications that the Panamanian MD's would not be familiar with. We had identified these medications by revising our lists with a local medical doctor and pharmacist. Permissions from the prison director had had to be obtained long before the date of the blitz. Doctors and nurses had been lined up for the big day, and many prisoners that are part of the prison's pastoral team ( inmates that take catechism classes which Fr Al began 8 or 9 years ago) had registered the sick inmates over a period of time prior to that. The inmates that are part of the pastoral team are called "missionary prisoners", and I might add that they wear the name well.

Perhaps I should say at this time that there is a medical doctor who is present on the premises of the prison, 5 days per week. However, with the sheer number of sick inmates (out of a total of 1500), the task at hand is heavy for one person to handle; not to mention that whatever medications the inmates need, the inmates must pay for, which is difficult, if not impossible for them to do, since poverty is a common factor as to why the inmates find themselves in prison in the first place. People's waiting periods to see the doctor vary between weeks and interminable periods. Years ago we had a blitz in which prisoners were so happy they were crying when they finally saw the doctor who attended to them. One man said he had been waiting for 2 years in prison to see a doctor for his problem.

Three nurses from the community volunteered to help during our blitz, as did 2 medical doctors and 2 pharmacists. We had great support from the prison and community Pastoral Teams members. The guards were also cooperative (which isn't always a given), and the inmates were nothing but respectful and appreciative. We were able to see approximately 200 inmates between 10am and 5:30 pm. The medications we used were mostly from Health Partners International of Canada. If a prisoner had a prescription for a medication that we had not brought, it was bought and a brought a day or so later, after buying it locally with funds that we collected over the past year. People were truly grateful and it was a very humbling experience in so many ways. One man was extremely sick; so much so that he could barely make it out of his cell. Upon examining him, the doctor refused to give him any medication as he needed to be taken to the hospital immediately. He was septic, which means he had generalized infection of his blood. Without the medical blitz, the missionary prisoners feel he would have been overlooked as he was literally in the corner of his cell, too sick to make any kind of a fuss or speak up for himself. Without medical treatment, he would no doubt have died. In short, it was a wonderfully successful day. We're ecstatic!