Archive for the ‘Project Updates’ Category

Volunteer Dentists Come to Clinica Verde

Friday, April 27th, 2012

Dr. Ernesto Herrera Scott at Clinica Verde.

 

Volunteer dentists Dr. Ernesto Herrera Scott and Dra. Alina Plasencia Herrera recently visited Clinica Verde to provide a talk to children and parents about dental hygiene. The “charla” covered proper brushing techniques, how to prevent cavities, and what happens if you don’t take care of your teeth. The kids were able to practice what they learned, using a large doll to practice proper brushing, as well as getting to play with purple dye to see where plaque build-ups are.  Thanks to a donation from Colgate, every child left with a new toothbrush and toothpaste.  The Herreras will be back at Clinica Verde in two weeks to do a talk for adults. Thanks so much to our fabulous volunteer dentists!

Dra. Alina Plasencia Herrera at Clinica Verde.

 

Sneak Peak: Our Clinica Verde-JP Lizzy Satchel

Thursday, March 15th, 2012

Interior in “circle of life” green.

 Proceeds from each bag will help to provide prenatal vitamins for 1 mother for the duration of her pregnancy. To pre-order a $78 bag, contact: susan@clinicaverde.org.

Meet a Few of Our Awesome Employees …

Monday, March 12th, 2012

Our Fetal Doppler At Work!

Monday, March 5th, 2012

Last year the Rotary Club of Sanibel, Florida, awarded us a grant to purchase 2 Fetal Dopplers for Clinica Verde. Here’s Clinica Verde’s OB/GYN, Dr. Saul Zeledon, putting a Doppler to good use! This young woman didn’t know she was pregnant when she came to Clinica Verde. Here, she is listening to her baby’s heartbeat for the first time. Pretty awesome.

Thanks, Sanibel Rotary, for your support of our work in the world!

Clinica Verde: Open For Business

Tuesday, February 7th, 2012

837 Patients in the first 3 1/2 weeks.

In the final weeks of January, our Board of Directors traveled together to Nicaragua for our annual meeting – and to see Clinica Verde open and serving patients. We wish you could have been there with us.

Between January 9 and 31, we served 837 patients: 624 women, 213 men, 231 children under the age of 9. Our Clinic Director, Jennifer Owen, reports that common concerns include bronchitis, pneumonia, dehydration and diabetes. We have a superb, committed staff in place on the ground and excellent leadership moving forward.

Said Owen: “I see evidence every day that we are making tangible changes in people’s lives, and I see places where we can grow and improve every day. People are proud to be able to come to a facility like this, and people are very proud to work here. There is a really special kind of joy in coming to work every day, confident that you have a stellar staff in place that is committed to achieving the mission of Clinica Verde in a measurable way. We have a lot of work ahead of us, and that is going to require a lot of resources. But I know we are doing something that matters, and I know we have the right team in place. That’s a pretty great place to be in, one month into operations.”

Thank you for believing in Clinica Verde and our work to create a new model of care for families living in poverty. Clinica Verde belongs to the community, but it is there because of you.

Clinica Verde Training Day!

Monday, December 19th, 2011

On Friday, Dec. 16, Clinica Verde held a training day for all of its new employees. I delivered a welcome and congratulation to the team in Nicaragua via Skype at 6:30 a.m. Pacific and our leaders on the ground took over from there – doing a superb job orienting the group to the work ahead.

Our employee manual and job descriptions were distributed and reviewed, and Dr. Incer led a presentation that reviewed our mission and goals, standards of care and service, protocols, and the spirit and culture of excellence we expect to impart from Day 1.

Local staff from the Ministry of Health joined the group for lunch and got to know the team and our goals, while discussing ministry requirements and expectations. We look forward to partnering with local government agencies so that we can support each other’s goals.

Our new Director, Jennifer Owen, helped to organize and oversee the day, doing the fabulous work we’ve grown to realize is second nature to her. We are thrilled to announce that Jennifer has agreed to serve in Boaco for a full year to help lead our services and develop our organization on the ground at this critical stage of our growth. She is a blessing beyond anything we imagined.

Thank you so much for your continued commitment to our work in the world. Clinica Verde belongs to the community and each of you who have supported it, and we feel a great responsibility to serve all of our constituents with excellence, determination and respect.

As I reminded our team on Friday morning, we are servants to the poor. I shared these words from Peter Drucker: “Rank doesn’t confer privilege or power. It imposes responsibility.” Ours is to care for impoverished women and children with professionalism and love.

We wish all of you a holiday season filled with health and hope.

Gratefully,

Susan

Exhibit A: Our Supply Room – AFTER!

Thursday, November 10th, 2011

This is our supply room AFTER it was inventoried and organized by CV Super Volunteer Jennifer Owen. (Yes … it’s a thing of beauty.)

This is what it looked like pre-Jennifer.

We love people who get things done!

CV Boaco Update

Friday, October 21st, 2011

CV Legal Rep Rafael Morales, Dr. Armando Incer and the MINSA inspection team in Boaco.

As we work to raise awareness and support in the U.S., a lot of activity is taking place in Nicaragua. Our dedicated team in Managua and Boaco are working hard to keep our project moving forward. Here are some highlights of our progress:

• The American Nicaraguan Foundation inspected the clinic on Oct. 4 to approve us for receiving medications and support through their incredible foundation. Thanks, ANF!

• The Ministry of Health visited Clinica Verde on Oct. 20 to inspect the clinic for approval. Thanks to this great MINSA team for their time and attention. We hope to satisfy their requirements quickly so we can begin the work of serving impoverished Nicaraguans!

• Recommended personnel are being reviewed by our legal rep in Nicaragua, Rafael Morales, and Clinica Verde Board Vice-Chair, Dr. Elquis Castillo.

• Former Minister of Health of Nicaragua and CV Board Member Margarita Gurdian spend time in Nicaragua following an assignment with USAID in Angola, and met with officials and CV team members to review goals and action items prior to clinic opening.

• CV volunteer Jennifer Owen is in Boaco helping with clinic setup. She has been an enormous blessing to our project.

We are moving forward!

Meet Our Fabulous Volunteer, Jennifer Owen …

Friday, October 21st, 2011

This month Clinica Verde in Boaco welcomes volunteer Jennifer Owen, who will spend October helping out on the ground in Nicaragua. Jennifer is an attorney practicing in clean energy technologies and energy policy. She served at the Department of Energy as Director of the Office of Technology Advancement and Outreach in DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and was a Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT) and a staff member on the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Says Jennifer: “As an advocate for clean energy technologies in the U.S., I am excited to see Clinica Verde demonstrate sustainable building in a real world scenario. I hope to help the clinic move forward to opening, and provide whatever help I can. The mission of the clinic is so important – I feel very blessed to have an opportunity to meet the people of Boaco and support Clinica Verde!”

We are honored to have Jennifer’s commitment and support!

Construction, May 21, 2010

Sunday, May 23rd, 2010