HEALTH CARE
While it is true that every Mexican citizen is guaranteed no-cost access to healthcare, doctors remain few and far between in the poor neighborhoods where VAMOS! works. And medicines, Dental Care and Mental Health Care are not free! Early on, families asked if we could provide a doctor and a dentist for them. YOUR generosity made it possible! Having a doctor visit each of our centers every other week brings health care directly to them, increasing their access to high-quality medical care and to the medicines that they need.
MEDICAL CARE
Starting in 2005 VAMOS! has provided free health care and medicines to our VAMOS! families. Today, our staff physician, Dr. Martha Castañeda, travels to each of our ten centers on a regular schedule where she carefully listens to each patient, diagnoses their medical problems and provides them with the necessary medicines to help them feel better. According to Dr. Castañeda, malnutrition, poor living conditions and unclean drinking water cause most of the illnesses that she treats. The bad drinking water here results in parasitic diseases and crowded housing with dirt floors create the perfect condition for respiratory illnesses. Through medicine we can often stop the infections, and
our healthy meals have all but eliminated malnutrition in our families.
Every year Dr. Castañeda averages more than 2,000 consultations and distributes more than 1,800 medicines to VAMOS! patients. In addition, there are more serious cases that are referred to our main office by Dr. Castañeda or by project coordinators at our VAMOS! Community Centers. VAMOS! has provided people with support for transportation expenses or for medications, laboratory tests and medical studies. They have been able to go to the Children’s Hospital and Civil Hospital in Cuernavaca or to the Children’s Hospital and General Hospital in Mexico City to be treated for diseases such as: hypothyroidism, tumors, respiratory failure, asthma, cancer, lupus, pneumonia, breast cancer, severe burns and eyesight issues.
DENTAL CARE
Since 2010 Dr. Sara Salones has led our Dental Services Program. VAMOS! has our own fully equipped dental facility located in our downtown Center, Casa Tatic. Dr. Salones travels to our centers where she examines VAMOS! children and mothers and schedules appointments for them at our Casa Tatic. All basic dental services are performed there - extractions, filling cavities, and cleaning. In addition, Dr. Salones teaches all of our children how to properly brush their teeth, and free toothbrushes are given out to take home. Each child also gets a toothbrush to keep at the VAMOS! center where hands are washed and teeth are brushed every day. Dr. Salones sees about 1,000 children and mothers each year and hands out 3,000 toothbrushes!
MENTAL HEALTH
VAMOS! recognizes the stress and trauma that living in extreme poverty causes. In 2005 we began to offer mental health workshops to the mothers in our centers and that naturally evolved into women asking for individual sessions. VAMOS! hired Dr. Reyna María Cruz, a psychologist, to lead these important services. Today Dr. Cruz is a full-time staff member and schedules her time between one- on-one consultations and group workshops for women and teens. Staff often refer families to Dr. Cruz for therapy sessions and these can be related to hyperactivity, low school performance,
attention deficit and aggressiveness. Teenagers present problems related to communication with their parents and a lack of interest in attending school. Adult women come because of problems with their partners, family violence and depression. Today more women are reporting stress and anxiety in their lives due to the increased levels of violence around them as a consequence of the fight for power among drug cartels within their communities.
VAMOS! collaborates with the Centro para el Desarrollo de las Mujeres (Center for Women’s Development) of the Instituto de la Mujer del Estado de Morelos (Women’s Institute of the State of Morelos). Therapists from the center give workshops at our centers covering topics ranging from domestic violence, where to go to get help, women's rights and accessing legal assistance.
THE VAMOS! IMPACT
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Healthier Generations: By providing free doctor exams and medicines, VAMOS! helps ensure that children from poor families receive essential healthcare services during critical stages of their development. This leads to healthier childhoods and lays the foundation for healthier adult lives, contributing to the well-being of future generations.
Reduced Healthcare Disparities: Access to healthcare is a key factor in reducing healthcare disparities. Through its outreach efforts in areas with few doctors, VAMOS! addresses disparities in healthcare access, promoting greater equity in healthcare provision and outcomes over the long term.
Increased Productivity: Healthy individuals are more likely to be productive members of society. By improving the health of poor families, VAMOS! contributes to economic development by ensuring that individuals can participate fully in the workforce and contribute to the overall growth of their communities.
Preventative Health Behaviors: Through regular doctor exams and health education initiatives, VAMOS! promotes preventative health behaviors such as vaccination, healthy eating, and exercise. Over time, these behaviors can lead to a reduction in the prevalence of chronic diseases and a healthier population overall.
Healthcare System Strengthening: By supplementing existing healthcare infrastructure and providing additional resources to underserved communities, VAMOS! contributes to the strengthening of the healthcare system as a whole.
Community Empowerment: Access to healthcare is not just about medical treatment; it is also about empowering individuals and communities to take control of their own health. By providing free medical services and promoting health education, VAMOS! empowers poor families to make informed decisions about their health and well-being, leading to healthier lifestyles and communities in the long term.