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Centura Health team lends a hand in Peru

Contributed by: Dana Berry on 3/9/2006

Centura Health Team Aids Hospital, Remote Villages in Peru

A team of associates from Centura Health recently returned home to Denver from a mission trip in Iquitos, Peru. The team of 18, which included associates from Centura Health, Boulder Community Hospital and the Boulder Medical Center, performed 23 surgeries at Clinica Adventista Ana Stahl and provided health care for more than 500 people living in remote villages along the Amazon River.

Iquitos, a city of 500,000 located in the Amazon basin, and the largest city in the world accessible only by boat or plane, has great health care needs. The services are limited and expensive for the local population, so most residents cannot afford to seek treatment.

The purpose of the Feb.16-24 medical mission trip, sponsored by the Centura Health Adventist hospitals—Avista Adventist Hospital in Louisville, Littleton Adventist Hospital in Littleton, Parker Adventist Hospital in Parker and Porter Adventist Hospital in Denver—was twofold. The mission served to improve the surgical services that Clinica Adventista Ana Stahl can provide to the community by upgrading operating room and diagnostic equipment, providing continuing education for surgeons and nurses and offering free surgeries for Peruvians who are unable to pay.

Additionally, the mission addressed the basic health needs of the indigenous people living in villages along the Amazon River and its tributaries by offering screenings, vaccinations and primary health education. Centura Health provided funding to refurbish a medical boat, used daily to transport clinical staff and medical supplies to the villages.

“We were able to bring essential medical equipment that they otherwise would not have access to,” said Greg Hodgson, director of mission and ministry for Centura Health, and facilitator of the mission.

Centura Health partnered with Centennial-based Project C.U.R.E. to enlist help collecting donated medical supplies. Additionally, local medical supply companies donated $75,000 worth of equipment, supplies and medications. In total, the team delivered to Iquitos nearly $600,000 worth of new medical equipment, medications and supplies, including a new flat-screen video monitor, a cardiac monitor and essential tools for laparoscopic surgery.

Stephen Johs, MD, a general surgeon practicing at Avista Adventist Hospital and Boulder Community Hospital, performed all of the surgeries and instructed staff on how to perform minimally invasive laparoscopic gallbladder and hernia operations. Rick Gildersleeve, MD, anesthesiologist at Boulder Community Hospital, handled each patient’s anesthesia and pain control.

The surgical team also consisted of Peg Henneke, RN, Ana Maria Cortes, RN, and Mercedes MacNamara, RN, all with Avista Adventist Hospital; Bonnie Webber, RN, surgery center manager at Boulder Medical Center; Larry Moon, bio-medicine technician at Boulder Community Hospital, and Rachel Seguin, a surgical representative with Johnson & Johnson.

The community health team included Debra Gradick, MD, emergency department director at Avista Adventist Hospital, and her husband, Daniel Abrescia; Terry Ritchey, RN, chief nursing officer at Parker Adventist Hospital; Mary Jo Griswold, physical therapist for Centura Health at Home and her husband Mark Griswold; and Rolando Salinas, director of the Centura Health Call Center, who served as a translator. Additional participants included Daryl Rott, pastor, Boulder Seventh Day Adventist Church, and Avista Adventist Hospital board member; Dana Berry, news media specialist for Centura Health, and her husband John Berry.

“We were able to carry out the Centura Health mission of extending the healing ministry of Christ by nurturing the health of people in the Iquitos community, who receive little or no medical care,” said Hodgson. “This mission was an incredible success, and I’m extremely proud of our team and all we accomplished.”

Centura Health regularly conducts international mission trip projects. Future projects are planned for Peru, Rwanda, Nepal and other countries. A team will return to Iquitos April 27-May 5, and a trip to Rwanda is planned for July 5-16.

About Centura Health

Colorado's largest health care provider, the Centura Health family includes 12 hospitals, eight senior living residences, medical clinics, Flight For Life Colorado and home care and hospice services. A nonprofit, faith-based organization, Centura Health is a joint venture organization that was formed in 1996 by Catholic Health Initiatives Colorado and Adventist Health System. Centura Health provides care and comfort to more than half a million people each year and is Colorado’s fourth largest private employer with more than 12,000 associates. For more information on Centura Health, visit centura.org.

Dana Berry is in the corporate communications department of Centura Health


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