BCGH Doctor Travels to Central America to Help Less Fortunate

BCGH DOCTOR TRAVELS TO CENTRAL AMERICA TO HELP LESS FORTUNATE

On January 10th, Brown County General Hospital anesthesiologist Dr. Magdalena

Kerschner left the United States to perform a mission. This mission was to

bring hope to the people of poverty stricken Belize who cannot afford medical care.

Belize is located in Central America and is the only English speaking country in the

region. For over a century this country was a British colony known as British Honduras.

On June 1, 1973, Belize became an independent nation and is a member of the Caribbean

community. Belize became the United Kingdom’s last colony on the American

mainland.

The poverty level of this country is at 33.5% and has the highest unemployment rate in

Central America. Colonization, slavery, and immigration have affected the ethnic

composition of the population and Belize has become a country of various cultures,

languages and ethnic groups. The country consists of Creole, Garuna, Mestizo, Spanish,

Maya, English, Mennonite, Lebanese, Chinese and East Indian.

There are six districts within Belize and Dr. Kerschner’s assignment was in the Orange

Walk district located in the northwestern section. She, along with a team of nurses and

surgeons, were assigned to Northern Regional Hospital.

“People from throughout Belize came to the clinic,” said Kerschner. This meant long

waiting lines in the clinic for medical help for illnesses and disabilities. With limited

technology and donated supplies brought by each healthcare worker, the team would

perform 63 surgeries, provide treatment to 200 dermatology patients, and treat 700 more

people in various villages within the district. The anesthesia drugs taken to Belize by

Dr. Kerschner were supplied to her by the Brown County General Hospital Pharmacy

Department.

While Belize is dependent upon international donors of services, their presence is not

always appreciated as one team discovered during a day at the clinic. “Part of the team

were asked to leave the clinic during a mayoral election. The mayoral candidate did not

want them there as it made him look bad that the services being performed were being

given to the village from people of other countries,’ stated Kerschner. “When the people

of the village learned of this, they turned to their local news reporters and with the help of

the media won the right for the medical staff to remain.”

There were many children with cleft palettes, and various deformities as well as

elderly with untreated skin cancer. Dr. Kerschner said that her greatest reward was in

“the smiles and gratefulness of the family and patients we operated on” “One little boy,

through abuse, had developed scar tissue surrounding the edge of his ears, giving him a

the appearance of having elephant ears. He had not only suffered physical abuse but

many years of emotional abuse from the children who had laughed at him in school,” she

said. As to her role in this and the other surgeries she participated in, she stated, “ I feel

that I can be of help both physically and emotionally with what I contribute.”

Specialty medical care is quite rare in Belize for the sugar cane worker making $9.00 a

day. “They are too poor to receive proper medical care even if it was available.,” she

stated. “There is no one locally who can repair a cleft lip, and there is no radiation

treatment services for cancer patients with no means to pay for healthcare”,

adding that modern health care is only available to the very wealthy of the country.

The trip was organized by the Horizon Community Church and River Hills Christian

Church located in Cincinnati. “Whether a nurse, surgeon or businessman , those who go

on these mission trips do this voluntarily, paying the costs of their own trip and

accommodations’, said Kerschner. She said that her reason for going is, “I like to give

back for some things I’ve received as an American. It’s my way of making a

contribution to those with much less.”

On January 20th, Dr. Kerschner returned to the United States and to her busy practice as a

certified anesthesiologist and program director for The Center for Interventional Pain

Management at Brown County General Hospital.

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