March 2008

TRIP NOTES

Whale watching is one of the highlights of the March trip and most said this trip was one of the best. In calm seas, with great weather, everyone who really wanted to pet a whale did so. There was also a geology field trip for the 18 people who stayed on the San Juanico side. We learned that Baja is relatively young… about ten million years old. We hunted for fossils with mixed success and ate extraodinary meals, prepared by Silvio and the two Marilyns. Thanks to geologist John Minch, who put up with our questions.

MEDICAL CLINIC

The medical side saw close to 30 patients. Dr. Steve Enright, with Polly Parker assisting, and Myra Howard, FNP, with Susan Grube assisting, saw a mixture of new and returning patients with many different diagnoses. Marilynn Enns and Bobbi Bliss, with the assistance of others, kept the pharmacy running in an organized and efficient manner. Christine Gaskin, Zack Hoover, and others kept the lab and blood pressure station flowing, while Debbie Murphy did another excellent job of triage and interpreting. The new organization of the medical side has been well received by all.

DENTAL CLINIC

Last year at this time the dental side saw the most patients ever, only to be eclipsed this time by a record 66 patients. Marilyn Zellet did triage. Michele Picone was a welcome addition, busy all day with many needed teeth cleanings. Janice Smith did sterilization and other chores, as needed. Chuck Moggia’s smiling face and great attitude were a blessing on this busy day. Patsy Hodges assisted Chuck. Stu and Roni, as always, efficiently kept the patients flowing, even as Stu did a couple of root canals. Dick Klein had to turn away some patients until next season, as time was running out on denture completion time. John Grube and Larry Cochran did a record number of extractions with, luckily, no time consuming complications.

NOTEWORTHY

The suburban blew a hose and damaged the fan belt right in front of the clinic, with a big bang that startled everyone. Since we needed the suburban for the crowd that was staying on the San Juanico side, Frank Heintz and Jon Goerke went right to work and found the problem. Dale Smith volunteered to fly to Mulege and get spare parts. Dale returned later with all the parts needed and the car was ready on Sunday morning. Thanks to all for a super effort!

MARCH VOLUNTEERS

Pilots: Craig Arcuri, Larry Cochran, Jim Gaskin, Frank Heintz, John Grube, Ted Kenney, Stu Macpherson, Ross Rankin, Elwood Schapansky, Dale Smith

MD: Steve Enright

Family Nurse Practitioner: Myra Cochran

RNs: Bobbi Bliss, Christine Gaskin, Polly Parker

EMT: Zack Hoover

Dental Hygiene: Michele Picone

Clinic Coordinator: Marilyn Enns

Translators: Debbie Murphy, Susan Grube, Marilyn Zellet

Dentists: Dick Klein, Chuck Moggia, Stu Macpherson, John Grube

Dental Assistants: Patsy Hodges, Larry Cochran, Roni Macpherson

Helpers: Karen Schapansky, Janice Smith, Dale Smith, Margo Kenney, Amy Musante, John Goerke, Annekate Wagner, Megan Wagner

Geologist: John Minch

APRIL TRIP

Volunteers, call Melodi at (805) 736-7123.

Trip will be April 11.

Potluck will be Wednesday, April 2 at the home of Mary and Silvio Diloreto. Please bring a dish to share. Click here for details »

If you'd like to subscribe/unsubscribe to Aeronotes, click here.