JANUARY  2011

TRIP NOTES
The weather for the January trip was clear both directions. There was light wind on the Pacific side but stronger winds on the Mulege side
. Four planes flew from Santa Barbara, and one from San Diego, our Mulege plane, Terry Rahe was in the shop. Hope he is back soon . The winds on the return trip were strong and the trip home was  considerably longer.

MEDICAL CLINIC
After not being at the Clinic in December, there were many medical patients to be seen.
There were some new faces, both helpers and patients. Triage went smoothly with Trevor Zellet getting a good history and sending them in order, to the vital sign station. Chris Hutton and Daniel Bean got all the vital statistics needed for the clinicians. Beth Soderberg, NP and Myra Howard-Cochran, NP gave thorough exams and picked up some new cases of hypertension and diabetes.Brad Chmelka translated and did patient education for Myra. The final stop for many was the pharmacy, efficiently managed by Patsi Hodges, RN with David Morgan and Blaze VandenBrulle. Many patients were asked to come back next month for follow up and thanks to the great staff, everything ran smoothly.

DENTAL CLINIC 
The dental clinic was its usual busy self  with a root canals  and fillings for Stu and Roni MacPherson, and mostly extractions with a few fillings for John Grube, assisted by Larry Cochran CCDA. Marilyn did the triage and kept things moving, while Karen and Angela did the sterilization of instruments and kept the units supplied with what ever was needed. Angela also did a great job of  explaining procedures and calming nervous patients with her fluent Spanish and warm smile.  Hygienst Michele Picone joined us again and was kept busy cleaning teeth and doing patient education with her fluent Spanish.

NOTES of Interest
It is always interesting to hear the comments from our future generation, this from Chris Hutton a UCSB student and his second trip.     “Aeromedicos represents much more than caring for individuals whom lack access to medical and dental care. It bridges a gap between people of two cultures. The patients we see are hardy, courageous, reserved, but always  express their gratitude.. I am proud to have had the privilege to serve them.”

JANUARY VOLUNTEERS
Pilots: John Grube,  Frank Heintz,  Stu MacPherson,  John McConnel, MD: Myra Cocran Beth Soderberg       Dentists: John Grube, Stu MacPherson  Dental Hygiene: Michele Picone  : Patsy Hodges   EMT: Chris Hutton, Daniel Bean      Dental Assistants: Roni MacPherson, Larry Cochran  Translators: Angela Vandenbrulle, Brad Chemelka, Marilyn Zellet, Dave Morgan  Helpers: Karen Yule, , Blaise Vandenbrulle

February volunteers, call Karen 805 895 6750.                  Feb. trip will be February 11th.

Potluck:  Wednesday, Feb 2, 6:30 p.m. at the home John and Susan Grube.    See map below for directions. Please bring a dish to share.  Drinks will be provided.

Heads up on the March trip;  please call now if interested it is usually a full trip !

John & Susan Grube:
4750 Sierra Madre
Telephone: 964-5664

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