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Birmingham Associates Travel to Bolivia

September 2002. Greg Guinn and Jerome Chatman, BMETs with St. Vincent's Hospital, Birmingham, AL, left Chochabamba, Bolivia on June 5, 2002. They were there to assess the medical equipment needs of the Hospital San Vicente and repair as much equipment as possible.

Greg stated that they couldn't fix the majority of the devices because they were outdated, so parts were unavailable. However, they focused on the most critical devices and accomplished the majority of what they set out to do.

In addition to assisting the hospital, they visited several orphanages and homes for street children. Greg and Jerome were able to fix washers and dryers and some of the dental equipment that was owned by the orphanage. They also repaired equipment at the San Pedro Clinic and the Sayaricuy Boys Shelter.

Working in these facilities was hard because of the children. Greg stated, "You just wanted to bring them all home." He added that the staff at the facilities work very long hours and have few tools to work with. When he arrived home, he sent one of the workers his personal Fluke multimeter because one couldn't be found for purchase in Bolivia.

One the day they left, the housekeeping staff of the hospital gave each of them a fountain pen holder as a going away gift. Since the workers make a very meager living, this gester meant a lot to Greg and Jerome. As with all of the TriMedx associates who participate in our charity care missions, Greg and Jerome appreciated the opportunity to go to Bolivia and they look forward to returning.