Dominicans Vital to Health Care Team Efforts

Sylvia Tillman with Padre Daniel Samuel, priest at St. Mary's the Virgin Episcopal Church, Montellano

The 2011 Dominican Health Care Team expresses thanks to the hosts, facilitators & translators, who are the reason this mission succeeds year after year... this year being no exception. We thank Father Daniel Samuel, priest at St. Mary's the Virgin Episcopal Church, his wife Maria and the women of the parish, who organized & publicized the clinics with the local officials, efficiently handled the sometimes tumultuous registrations at all of the sites, and generously provided home-cooked Dominican lunches for both teams several times each week. Our gratitude, too, to Maritiza Acevada, for her indomitable spirit and unquestionable joy in working to sort out the tangles and tests of logistics for the team, including transport, translators and local arrangements for the clinics... & much more. And the translators! These young people have been the lively lifeblood of communicating medical information at the clinics, especially for many on the health care team who have limited or no understanding of Spanish or Creole. The translators made a definitive difference in both language and credibility for health care delivery to hundreds of Dominican & Haitian patients. We give thanks for our Dominican companions!

Translators at Munoz...

Dr. Howie Lee with logistics magician Maritza Acevada.

Women of St. Mary's parish, including Deacon Maria Daniel [in red].