Waiting
Reuters is reporting what many of us suspect: Time will tell the public health course of events in Villahermosa
Colds, respiratory illnesses and foot fungus have become common, and doctors in the tropical city fear outbreaks of more serious diseases like cholera due to a lack of running water.
“The risk now is infections. There could be an epidemic,” said Ramon de Jesus Velarde, the head of Tabasco state preventive health program. He said cholera and dengue fever were the main threats.
Standing water attracts mosquitoes, which can carry infectious diseases like dengue. Cholera is transmitted by contaminated water.
Here in Iowa, I’ve put together some thoughts on bridging a relatonship between DMU and Universidad Juarez Autonoma de Tabasco, a state run university which includes a Master of Public Health program in addition to their clinical programs.
This is the opening of the proposal:
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. — The Life of Reason George Santayana
“Under brilliant skies that mocked the misery below, Iowa’s capital city was immobilized for a second day as most businesses shut down and residents struggled without running water after floods engulfed the city’s waterfiltering system over the weekend.”
New York Times, July 13, 1993
“Four days of steady rain in the Gulf Coast state of Tabasco has caused rivers to overflow their banks, leaving vast areas of the state capital, Villahermosa, underwater. Newspaper photos showed cars underwater and parts of the city turned into a vast lake, and Gov. Andrés Granier appealed to residents of the city’s central district to leave their homes…it was clear that much of Villahermosa remained paralyzed on Saturday, without clean drinking water and electricity in many areas. ..The city is an important provincial capital on the low-lying swampy plains leading down to the Gulf of Mexico. It is also the site of the regional headquarters for the state oil monopoly, Petroleos Mexicanos…The rest of the state is largely agricultural, and officials said most of the state’s crops had been destroyed.”
New York Times, November 1 & 4, 2007
The proposal is not much more than pixels on the screen and the hopes of several supporters. I think the right people are reading it and will act positively. The idea is multiple two way exchange of faculty and graduate students to study and learn about recovery following a disaster of this magnitude. It’s not the drama of immediate rescue, but it the kind of critical study and learning that we do best.
For now like hundreds of thousands in Villahermosa, we wait.
Reaching out - Villahermosa
We’ll probably regroup later this afternoon, seeing what we know and where the best avenues for hope and aid exist. The New York Times ran a story today, story number three in the bottom links under World.
The Christian Science Monitor has done what may of us had done in our own minds, and labeled the event Mexico’s ‘Kartina’
One of the medical directors of previous mission trips to Villahermosa and I swapped emals yesterday afternoon. He shared with me his medical team has made multiple return trips to Mexico, and returned from Villahermosa about two weeks ago. The need, he anticipates, is not for surgions, but for ways to rebuild infrastructure.
The following is courtesy of the Christian Science Monitor, and compiled by several sources.
Floods in Mexico: How to help A partial list of organizations accepting donations to assist victims of flooding in Tabasco.
Red Cross: Call 800-HELP-NOWor 800-257-7575 (Spanish). www.redcross.org
Catholic Relief Services:877-HELP-CRS or www.crs.org
UNICEF: 800-4-UNICEF or www.unicefusa.org
World Vision:888-56-CHILD or www.worldvision.org
Operation USA:800-678-7255 or www.opusa.org
Commercial banks with relief-fund accounts set up by the Mexican government.
ScotiabankAccount 00100911240
HSBC bank
Account 4000943274
Wells Fargo bank
Account 599253401
Bancomer bank
Account name: Ayuda Tabasco 2007.
Account number: 2280300127
Source: Los Angeles Times, wire services, aid organizations.
Compiled by John Aubrey, staff researcher Christian Science Monitor
International - NGO: nmnp photojournalism tabasco villahermosa
by Fritz
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Villahermosa is under water. What can we do?
My cell phone lit up with this text message at 10:45 today (11/4/07). The sender was Sue Ellen Ruggles, shown in this photo I took of her holding a mirror up for a young cleft lip patient to see his natural smile for the first time.
The photo was taken in Villahermosa, Mexico in 2000. According to news reports, today the city and State of Tabasco has 800,000 homeless and maybe 150,000 in shelters due to flooding and rain. Potable drinking water has been returned to approximately 30 percent of the area.
Here is Des Moines, a city about the same size as Villahermosa, we were flooded and without fresh water in 1993. Villahermosa, at an average of 10 meters above sea level, will have significant recovery issues
Sue Ellen is reaching out, I am reaching out, and soon, others of our teams will be reaching out to see the best way we can provide aid or be a conduit for aid.
When I left Villahermosa the first visit, I wrote this reflective piece about life’s questions.
More as I know it…
EDIT: Here is a like to Tabasco Hoy http://www.tabascohoy.com/villahermosa/
Or use a translate page to see in English.
The 1st Annual CHS Scholarship Day
The 1st Annual CHS Scholarship Day
College of Health Sciences
Des Moines University
December 13th, 2007
Invitation and Call for Posters to all CHS Faculty and Students
The first annual CHS Scholarship Day will be held on the evening of December 13, 2007. This is being developed this year in conjunction with the DPT Class of 2008 Scholarship Day. The idea is to bring together the entire College to build collegial relationships in terms of research, and to give all students and faculty a venue for sharing their work. If you do not want to present a poster, we hope you will attend.
Date: December 13, 2007
Location: SEC Commons
Time: 5:00 – 8:00 pm
The tentative schedule of this event is:
5:00 to 6:00 p.m. Formal poster review session
6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Invited speaker presentation (40-45 min talk, with 15-20 min questions).
The speaker will be: Richard Shields, PT, Ph.D., Director & Professor
Graduate Program in Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Science from the University of Iowa
http://www.medicine.uiowa.edu/physicaltherapy/faculty/shields.htm
7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Informal research social
Poster Abstract Submission:
If you would like to present a poster, submit a 250 word maximum abstract to Olivea.Mead@dmu.edu by December 3rd, @ 3:00 p.m. including the following:
Background and aims
Methods
Results
Conclusions
Uncommon abbreviations must be defined on first use.
Use Word to format your abstract as per example below (Times New Roman 10). Follow this format closely since there will be no re-formatting of your submission. Poster guidelines will send later.
If you have questions, please contact:
Vassilios.Vardaxis@dmu.edu
Ann.York@dmu.edu
Roxanne.Joens-Matre@dmu.edu
