Welcome back folks. We've had a great year of fundraising and are in the last planning phases for this year's trip. We are having a fundraiser cocktail party in Bangkok March 1st. Our clerkship group leaves Feb 26 and the spring break group arrives March 6th.

We will provide exam updates, vaccines and dental care. We also hope to make a trip to the villages in the mountains. We hope you'll follow our adventure here on our blogg and we will also post daily to our facebook page PROJECT THAILAND.

More pics from the CGT, clinics and Play therapy

Clinic at CGT

The children line up and can't help looking through the windows to see the doctors at work. The are very patient but curious and tend to push to the front. While working the students have big crowds watching them.

Here are some more photos from our clinics and other activities. They are registered and a paper chart completed, then they enter this into a electronic database once clinic is closed. With such a system, next year will be much more efficient and we should be able to track their progress and medical issues along the way. The students will be able to see these charts before they leave and we should be able to prepare, and purchase supplies more efficiently. This will improve overall resource utilization and save the center money and our teams a lot of time.

Hard work pays off! Time for some fun

The team has been hard at work for 3 days now. First clinic was Sunday evening. We went full tilt Monday and had vaccine clinic for evening. We did 300 Japanese encephalitis, and hundreds more polio, and hepatitis B vaccines. We have found a great online EHR that was simple, intuitive and most importantly FREE!! We spent most of today entering the exams and vaccine records into this database. We will be able to access this later via the internet and this will permit us to follow and better plan for future trips. The team will go up into the mountain villages tomorrow to see the Akha families of these children. This will be more of an acute care setting but they have no other access to any care.I did a video interview today of David Stevenson and hope to use it in presentations back home. They plan to build a school here and we are discussing making some rooms dual use as a medical clinic as well. The center has grown significantly since my first visit including chicken coop, food and fruit gardens, playground, and volunteer housing.

I am grateful for the enthusiastic help and support I have received from the students, fellow faculty, Drs. Jennifer Light, Mobeen Rathore, and Rich Petrik, the Emergency Department and the College of Medicine.

We are making a big difference to the Akha kids, not just protecting them from sex-slavery and pedophiles but also providing a true future with training in sustainable farming, and education that can be the foundation for higher education. Indeed, 2 of the CGT graduates are now studying at Universities in Thailand; the first Akha to do so EVER!

We are winding down the clinical phase and will begin to focus on art and play therapy. Tonight is American Movie night. We will be showing Fantasia 2000 and popping popcorn and we have ordered ice cream for all the children.

After tomorrow's village clinic we will be handing out more of the toys we purchased and Thursday we will take 2 children each for elephant rides, and lunch in the mountains. Thursday night we will be leaving to return to Bangkok where we will have 2 days of shopping and R&R. Saturday night we'll return to the airport for our late night flight home. We should be back in G'ville Sunday evening.

From Tourist Central to Northern Villages

Touch down at Chiang Rai airport and it was off to start another adventure. We were greeted at the airport by David, the founder of the orphanage, and a few excited smiling faces. Dr. Petrik, Dr. Light, Dr. Rathore and William Light on board, we were ready to see some patients! About twenty of us jumped into a large pick-up truck and we raced to the store to pick out toys for the 100's of children.

After seeing the kids jumping all around to greet us at the orphanage, we were energized to start clinic. Impetigo, tinea versicolor, lice, cough, and the occasional heart murmur were some of the clinical pearls of the day. With no labs or imaging to guide us, the skin became important again and stethanie regained her glory. Mosquito nets in place, we slept soundly.

5 AM.

The sound of little running feet and children laughing began to amplify from all corners of the complex culminating at a central location with beautiful songs and hymns. After their morning assembly, the children went straight to their tasks-cleaning, preparing lunch, getting ready for school, and helping the younger ones.

More much needed high-school children were available to translate in clinic. As the sun set, we prepared the vaccines. 100's of children received vaccination for Japanese Encephalitis, and we came together as a group to make some tough ethical decisions regarding the allocation of limited polio vaccines.

We started to understand our limitations here as we learned more about the immigrational status of these children and the political climate in this region. Nevertheless, we managed to do what we came here to do by way of medical care. Perhaps our most important contribution this year, we are spending much of our day today compiling medical records for teams to use in the future. We haven't presented the toys yet, so much more to come!!

Week 1, Part 2

Sawasdee (Hello) from Thailand, blog-followers!

A few nights ago, we had the pleasure of dining in a Thai home in Bangkok. Helen, a woman who grew up in the "mountain villages" of Burma, actually had a liver transplant at UF/Shands about five years ago. She saw an article about Project Thailand on the Gainesville Sun website, and invited us to an authentic Thai dinner in her beautiful home. From her 16th floor condo, we had a gorgeous view of Bangkok's night skyline. Dinner was absolutely delicious - especially the spicy Tom Yum Goon soup with fresh shrimp. Conversation was equally delicious. By the end, we had all fallen in love with Helen's infectious laugh and positive spirit! Her friends, Sumitmai and Flo, graciously transported us to and from the dinner, and shared lots of entertaining stories as well. We thank Helen for inviting us into her home, and we hope to see her again before we leave next weekend.

Since arriving in Phuket, we have visited the Vachira Hospital and Tacuapa Hospital, where we were moved by stories and images of the tsunami that struck 5 years ago. The healthcare workers there are true heros!

Other highlights include the Acupunture lecture and demonstration on Quincy (!), the Muay Thai boxing match, and lunch at the highest point on Phuket island with an amazing view of the mountains, jungles, and beach. Stay tuned for more photos & updates!

We've arrived in Bangkok!

We finally arrived in Bangkok, after our long, >24 hour trek across the globe! We got into town close to midnight on Sunday night, and everyone was wide awake due to the time change. Thankfully, Khao San Rd (where we're staying) never seems to sleep so we got to catch part of the US-Canada hockey game with some ice cold Chang Beer!

Monday, we were introduced to the Emergency Department at Ramathibodi Hospital Mahidol University. Over the next 2 days, we received lectures about tropical

diseases in SE Asia, advanced airway and RSI, and Thailand's EMS system. We also got to join in on rounds in the emergency room and check out their ambulances. Over the next day, we will learn more about toxicology, pediatrics, and Chinese acupuncture!

Of course, most of us have gone for a Thai massage in the last few days which is quite different from our massages. Let's just say its good to be flexible and its a little more painful! One of the nurse's husband does Thai massage and invited us over to give us a demonstration in its healing properties. Amr was the lucky victim and it was quite entertaining!

ER triage board

Our lab group with Thai students and faculty




Learning about tropical diseases and checking out flukes, worms and parasites

Gmail address

Project Thailand now has a GMAIL address. If you have supplies to donate, or wish to be a sponsor to support our group you can now contact us at
UFProjectThailand@gmail.com.
Supplies we particularly need are pediatric Singulair, and oral medications that don't require refrigeration. Cash donations can be made by check to UF Foundation with Project Thailand in the memo section.
Due to Pharma conflict of interest rules we cannot accept donations from the pharmaceutical companies but healthcare professionals such as physicians, pharmacists, and nurses can contribute.
Thanks,
Project Thailand