Danielle, Matt, Jim, and Alix, about to head out for house calls in Esfuerzo
The week is drawing to a close and yet I'm just now finding time to say a few words about it on our last day, and that's only because I stayed at the hotel today rather than going out in the field again.
This year’s team in Paraiso is the largest yet, including 26 people. These can be described as falling under the auspices of either William and Mary’s Student Organization for Medical Outreach and Support (SOMOS) or the Dominican Aid Society of Virginia (DASV)
The DASV team staffs the clinic and makes house calls in Esfuerzo. This year’s team members include:
- Dr. Mark Ryan, Richmond family medicine physician and VCU clinical faculty member
- Dr. Elisa Silverstein, Kansas city emergency room physician and mother to SOMOS student Rebecca
- Dr. Tamara Rodriguez, Dominican-trained physician and current graduate student at W&M
- Dr. Matt Harrington, Philadelphia-based internal medicine resident and SOMOS founder / former leader
- Dr. Alix Pandolfino, VCU pharmacy resident
- Kristen Agura, Physician’s Assistant based in Dallas, TX and former SOMOS member
- 4th year medical students Jim Donecker (Thomas Jefferson U), Treván Rankin (VCU), and Bethany Morehouse (VCU); Jim is also a former SOMOS leader
- VCU pharmacy students Danielle Navalta (3rd year), Palak Patel (3rd year), and Nellie Jafari(1st year)
SOMOS members participate in research and planning within the community to support public health initiatives. In addition to this, students also staff the clinic’s registration desk, serve as translators for clinicians, and help to fill prescriptions.
- Dr. David Aday, faculty advisor
- Carrie Dolan, MPH, W&M researcher
- SOMOS co-leaders Kevin Salinas and Taylor Hurst
- SOMOS students August Anderson, Kaveh Sedeghian, Amalhyn Shek, Joanna Weeks, Lindsay Schleifer, Rebecca Silverstein, Mel Alim, Melanie Rogers, and Jeff Rhode
We are also supported this year by David, the nephew of Dr. Rodriguez, who has been serving as a translator in the pharmacy.
This year’s SOMOS team is focusing on conducting a series of sub-community meetings in which they are presenting the results of their community research regarding the most pressing concerns for the community. They are also proposing several projects; community members vote at each meeting and the project with the most community support will be selected, and SOMOS efforts during the coming 5 years will focus on this project. My main focus this week has been the documentation of their work, as they are at a pivotal moment in their history. I will wait until after the end of the trip to share my thoughts about the direction their work is taking and the results of their week of meetings with community members.
