September's Update

We had such a favorable response from last month's Update that we've decided to post these monthly. We hope that this helps keep all informed on Health Care in our community as well as what we're doing to help. September Update September has been slightly more busy than August. The majority of patients seen this month (over 65%) were from the local Mexican community. With the help of your charitable donations, 97 children received a 50-85% discount on medical services. Our pediatrician only came one day this month, but he treated 12 kids and applied 5 tuberculosis vaccines to newborns. Our radiologist, Dra. Ileana Ortiz still comes every week.  Sometimes on Thursdays and sometimes on Saturdays, so be sure to call ahead to make your appointment: 624-124-8203. Coronavirus is still present in town, although not as prevalent as last month. As tourists return to town in the next few months and people inevitably start to let their guard down, we will have a resurgence of cases. It's important we remain vigilant and make smart decisions about when and where we gather socially. Last season we had a harsh flu season in town. This fall it's going to be more important than ever to get your flu shot. We would like to avoid two epidemics at once! If you would like to reserve your flu shot at our clinic, email us: EastCapeMedical@gmail.com. The economic and health effects of coronavirus on families has been devastating. One little girl in our community lost her father and her aunt to the virus a few months ago. She hasn't been eating and her mother is concerned for her health because she also recently recovered from a mild case of the coronavirus. The mother only has a little bit of money her husband left and sells food to pay bills. She doesn't have money to pay for laboratory studies or consults. While they work through this hard time our clinic is committed to keeping this family healthy. This month we started offering ear piercings. A very kind patient of ours donated several STUDEX ear piercing systems with sterilized, FDA medical-grade earrings. After receiving our training, of course we tried it on ourselves!! Ten of our brave staff members volunteered and now have beautiful new ear piercings to show off. You don't need an appointment, the cost is very affordable so stop by anytime and we´re happy to pierce your ears. 

Unfortunately, our X-ray machine has been down all month. Our team of engineers from La Paz have been working hard to fix and replace the burned circuits. However, we are hopeful to have the machine up and running by mid October. If you need an X-ray, call us to see if our machine is up and working before you make the trip to the clinic.  We have exciting news regarding a very kind and generous donation from 19 Labs: a telehealth device that allows us to do virtual physician consults and diagnostics from anywhere in the Baja. Our rural health pilot program will start this fall in El Cardonal. After our pilot program proves successful, we plan to take our telehealth clinic to Boca del Alamo, Campamento, La Ribera, and other rural communities where access to health care is limited. We are still receiving training on the device and configuring the logistics of the internet, cost, and time, however we are confident it will be a very beneficial program to the people in these rural communities.  While our clinic serves everyone in the community, our focus remains on the children and the underserved in our community. When you choose our services, you are helping that mission stay alive. If you'd like to contribute toward our efforts please visit our donations tab: www.EastCapeHealthCenter.org/donate

- This little newborn received a tuberculosis vaccine at the East Cape Health Center.

- These three little girls were part of our 2020 community health screening.

Thank you so much for your support!