Flying Sams, Helping Hands
Wednesday, 30 November 2011 22:30
The University of Arizona's Flying Samaritans Club is far from a group of doctors with its head in the clouds.
Rather, it is a handful of UA medical students and peers with dedicated efforts to provide medical attention to underserved border communities, such as that of Agua Prieta.
Each month, students and Tucson professionals make the trek to these towns and offer what they can, although UA chapter President, Jillian Moore, admits there’s always more to be done.
“A lot of our patients come from chronic conditions, like diabetes, and require constant care,” she said. “Over half our patients are children without medical records, added to structural, economic and societal challenges.”
Despite these factors and the difficulties of communication breakdown lost to translation, these students provide useful health education, basic dental care and more.
“We are caring for people who no one else does,” Moore said.
Moore says that beyond the obvious medical practice she obtains each trip, Flying Samaritans has taught her a lot about life.
“I’ve realized I don’t belong in a big, fancy hospital; I need to help the underserved” she said. “Medicine is not just about elaborate machines and drugs. We are teachers and we have to learn to understand our patients. A lot of the patients I see have completely different understandings of their bodies and disease. Many of our patients, for example, believe diabetes is attributed to stress, anxiety and conditions related to poverty.”
Will Pinkston, a new member to the club, couldn’t agree more.
“I thought the patients would be timid and untrusting of Americans,” Pinkston said. “That turned out not to be the case at all. I learned that I can help others even as an outsider. Caring for people is not bounded to by borders, language or culture.”
Even with all the student enthusiasm and solid results, the Flying Sams admits they can always use extra hand.
“We really do run on the generosity of the Tucson community,” Moore said. “We function on donations and volunteers which have been troubled with all the attention put on the cartels and border danger. We try to inform our doctors and other professionals that we keep up on the news. In reality, Agua Prieta is a very peaceful, quiet town.”
To be quite frank, the Flying Sams needs more help to truly fulfill their goals of making the greatest impact on these communities.
“No matter how much we do, I still feel a little helpless,” Morre said. “A certain part of the exchange rests on the patients, as they have to take their medicine and remain committed to healing, but we are always running on limited resources and funds. A lot of our equipment is really expensive.”
Somehow though, Moore says, the Flying Sams always finds a way.
Written by Tyler Kurbat You are reading Flying Sams, Helping Hands articles
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