Snapshot of Jay's Work

  

ER

Hospital Vozandes del Oriente (HVO) has 28 beds, 3 surgeons, 3 family practice docs, a midwife, a physical therapist and a pastor. The waiting room handles 80-120 clinic patients a day which are seen by the FP docs and the six resident doctors who are doing their rotations here.

Clinic

HVO is a regional hospital like Avera St. Anthony’s in O’Neill but many of the more complex cases here are not sent on to a bigger hospital like the Ne Med Center in Omaha or McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls. They stay at HVO and are managed by the doctors. 

Burn victim

Here’s a sample of cases Jay has seen or managed:  snake bites, 8-yr-old with severe burns, 2-yr-old with meningitis, c-sections, 2-month-old with pneumonia on the ventilator (using the ventilator is a regular occurrence here), extremely advanced case of lymphoma (a hospice situation), a man who cut through half his fore-arm with a circular saw (it severed all the muscles, nerves and arteries subsequently disabling that hand), and two cases of patients getting hands caught in sugarcane grinders (one partial amputation, one full amputation). 

Yikes. Acutely ill people, often with very severe injuries. These patients are a level above what Jay managed in O’Neill.

Why do the very sick come here and stay here? Several reasons. HVO has a very good reputation and often patients seek care here first although they also come here after being at other hospitals. Also, area hospitals staff their emergency rooms with resident interns on weekends and after 5 pm on weeknights. Subsequently, most trauma, OB and surgical cases are transferred here during those times. That can make ER call pretty intense.  Here’s what came through the ER one night last week: 8-10 minor cases, two c-sections and a trauma needing to be stabilized with a chest tube and intubation.

Nurses' Station

As far as sending patients on to larger facilities: The oil companies have medical helicopters available to bring patients from the jungle but the hospitals do not own helicopters. Patients are only sent on to larger hospitals by ambulance if they can’t be managed here and if they will survive the long mountain drives.

Jay continues to adjust to the intensity of his practice here. He spends a lot more time on call and in scrubs.

We appreciate your prayers for

-wisdom in learning the different medical equipment, pharmaceuticals and processes here

-wisdom in caring for the patients and opportunities to pray with them

- the patients’ health and faith.

It rained and rained yesterday. Wish we could send you a few inches. I’ve heard that harvest is pretty good on the irrigated quarters. Hope it is going well for everyone.

Thank you for your prayers.

Sincerely,

Lynnelle for the Allisons