Medical brigade travelling to Honduras

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Dr. Mario Castro discussed a patient’s medical history during a trip last year to Honduras with the Pulmonary Brigade. The St. Louisans provide medical and other assistance to people in need who live in extreme poverty.

A medical team making an annual trip to Honduras is counting on help from other St. Louisans to help as many needy people as possible.

The volunteers make a big commitment, Dr. Mario Castro said. "People usually take vacation time to do this. The physicians pay our own way and a little extra to help team members who do education and help with patients." Support members include nurses and therapists.

Castro, the leader and medical director of the team, is professor of medicine and pediatrics at Washington University, an asthma specialist at Barnes Jewish Hospital and a member of Our Lady of the Pillar Parish in Creve Coeur.

Some funding comes from an international assistance foundation and donors. Another organization provides medicine at a reasonable cost. A financial group in Clayton provides free administrative services for the international foundation. The Catholic Medical Mission Board has been involved as well.

"Every donation is used 100 percent. There's no administative function," Castro said. "It's been amazing every year. God's watching out for us because He provides every year for us to have enough medicine and resources to cover costs."

The Pulmonary Brigade has been traveling to Honduras every year for the past 18 years to provide medical care to children and adults from the state of Olancho and surrounding areas. Honduras has a lack of basic coordinated health care. The group is planning its annual trip in March and has been working throughout the year to raise money to purchase medications and medical supplies.

The more funds received, the more good that can be done, Castro said. "These patients are quite needy."

Life expectancy in Honduras is about 10 years less than in the United States. The mortality rate for children under 5 is listed as 27 per 1,000 while in the U.S. it is eight per 1,000, according to "The State of the World's Children." The CIA World Factbook shows that the poverty rate increased from 50 percent in 1992 to 65 percent in 2010.

Last year marked the opening of the Hospital Hermano Pedro in Catacamas, Honduras, built with funding from the Honduran government and donations from the Archdiocese of Fort Worth. The new hospital and clinic are the only medical facilities available in one of the largest municipalities in Central America. The hospital has clinic space for medical teams from the U.S. to see patients.

"During the week that the brigade operates, they offer medical care to hundreds of patients seen daily. Last year over 1,100 patients were seen during the week of the mission. No one is turned away, caring for everyone from newborns to the elderly. Patients are treated as needed and given medications that have been donated or purchased for the mission," said Jaime Tarsi, research coordinator in the division of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine.

The team consist of doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, pharmacists and a dental hygienist to serve both children and adult patients. Students and physicians in training come to learn the unique challenges of global health care in Third World situations.

The majority of the patients seen by the team have respiratory disease such as asthma or chronic bronchitis/emphysema (COPD). Respiratory disease affects much of the population in Honduras. In addition to the general poverty and poor nutrition, the air they breathe is filled with dust and smoke caused by deforestation, the burning of brush and trash, and the fact that many Hondurans cook over open fires in poorly ventilated houses.

While in Honduras the team works with local medical staff. They offer lectures on diseases, therapies and the use of specialty medical equipment. The team also serves the local orphanage.

"It is important that we continue to provide medical care and education to this underserved country. The people are very grateful for the care and assistance we provide," Tarsi said.

While in Honduras the team works with local medical staff. They offer lectures on diseases, therapies and the use of specialty medical equipment. The team also serves the local orphanage.

“It is important that we continue to provide medical care and education to this underserved country. The people are very grateful for the care and assistance we provide,” Tarsi said.

How to help

The Pulmonary Brigade is seeking donations for its mission trip to Honduras. Funds will be used to purchase medications and equipment and help defray transportation costs.

Send tax-deductible donations to:

International Medical Assistance Foundation, Dr. Mario Castro, MD, Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8052, 660 S. Euclid Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110-1093.