HEALTH YUNNAN
WHO ARE WE?
We are a group of like-minded healthcare professionals, nurses, doctors, dentists, psychologists,psychiatrists, physical therapists, special education teachers, from the United States who have a desire to help rural poor Chinese children through the use of our clinical and educational skills.
WHAT DO WE DO?
We preform healthcare education and hands-on consultation during short-term healthcare trips. We partner with our friends in Kunming, Mengzi, Chengdu and Zhongdian, China. We started our work in Yunnan in 2001. Nine short-term teams have provided education and direct patient care with our Chinese partners. Our team ascribes to the short term healthcare missions best practice standards.
WHEN IS THE NEXT TEAM GOING TO CHINA?
We have a team trip scheduled for the last 2 weeks in October (See schedule). We hope to continue our work in Kunming and Zhongdian, in Yunnan province. This time we hope to work with a new partner in Chengdu, China that is engaged in helping people impacted by the severe earthquake in May 2008. The psychology portion of the team will be working with the Western Hospital in Chengdu.
TEAM APPLICATION STORIES FROM PREVIOUS TRIPS HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? KUNMING AND YUNNAN INFORMATION
The Problem - Aminoglycoside-induced Hearing Loss
In the fall of 2003, a short-term healthcare team became aware of 150 deaf and hearing-impaired young adult students at the Hua Xia School for the Disabled in Kunming, China. The use of high doses of aminoglycoside antibiotics, streptomycin and gentamicin, to treat suspected bacterial infections was the cause of deafness for nearly all of the children. While this problem mostly occured 10-20 years ago, there are still areas in Yunnan where children receive aminoglycosides.
The team leaders, Sally Edwards RN and Peter Yorgin MD felt that they should try to do something about this problem. With the partnership concerned people in California, Cochlear, Inc. and the Let Them Hear surgical team, led by Dr Joe Roberson, more than 100 children received hearing aids and five children received cochlear implants in February 2005. Three additional children received cochlear implants in 2007 while Dr Roberson was working with the ENT physicians in Chengdu. Dr Gou Min, an ENT surgeon from First Affiliated Hospital in Kunming, trained with Dr Roberson in Palo Alto California for a month in 2007
One of the five children who received a cochlear implant in February 2005.
In March 2009 we, along with our Chinese friends, will continue working together again to provide hearing loss screening and teaching to village doctors to protect the hearing of more children.
Contact any of the team leaders for more details.