Health Fair

Today was the health fair! We were escorted by policeman to a school named February 13th (many of there schools are named after dates) with a mobile clinic to deliver vaccinations, Pap smears, take blood pressures, and inspect homes. My first activity of the day was to inspect homes for stagnate water. Stagnate water is a huge problem down here in Panama. Many of the homes do not have running water so people leave hug barrels outside their houses to collect rain water for washing clothes and cleaning. The problem with this is, though, is that standing water is a breeding zone for mosquitoes which carry dengue!!! Many of the homes we went to today had stagnate water and we educated the families on the importance of not leaving the water outside. Many of us today were able to assist with Pap smears and vaccinations. Many of the vaccinations were influenza shots for the children. The children were not too happy about this, but they were all good sports! We had a blood pressure stand where we took peoples blood pressure and educated them on the importance of healthy eating and exercise (well we didn’t exactly do it because we don’t speak Spanish very well, but the Spanish speaking nurses were a big help). The health fair went really well and we had an amazing turnout. Many families from the community came out to get their free screenings and vaccinations. The last half of the day we visited the University of Panama to par take in some of their festivities. They had a gathering for the crowning of the senorita enfermeria; I guess you could describe it as the “Queen”, like prom queen, of the nursing school. There were three girls in the running, each with their own section decorated and their friends cheering them on. There was music playing, people playing the drums, and dancing around! We were unable to see who was crowned because we had to leave, but I am sure we will find out when we visit the university again.
-Erin Smith