Building Momentum at Juan Pablo II

The morning started early with reflection questions for the day posed over a bright breakfast of eggs and toast. Dr. Adams led the group in considering the purpose of the trip and what we hoped to accomplish.

Breakfast at Casa del Angel Hostal

After planting seeds for reflection, we packed up, jumped in the bus, and headed through the packed Guatemala streets towards Hospital Materno Infantil de Juan Pablo II!

When they tell you the traffic will take another hour

Hospital Materno Infantil de Juan Pablo II serves low-income mothers and children in Guatemala City. They had accumulated many pieces of malfunctioning or broken medical equipment over the past two years, so the room we carried the pieces to was packed in no time. With plenty of work on our hands, we partnered up, grabbed a device, and set to work on repairing items!  

Getting to work!

Dr. P making use of her resources

Jorie, Cerie, and Katie worked together on a set of three autoclaves, instruments that build up high temperatures and pressures to sterilize medical equipment. They got two of them up and running! The third had a few more problems… it was found in a large container soaked in water. After fixing the water drain and wiping off the significant rust that enveloped the interior, we decided it was time to plug it in and...

The autoclave team

Rhett working on a new pointer for a broken scale

Calibrating and balancing infant scales turned out to be a taller task than expected when Rhett discovered that one of the scales was missing the indicator on the large weight. Instead of letting the scale go to waste he decided to make a new one! We bent a few pieces of scrap metal into shape and then epoxied the new pointer onto the weight. After calibration, the scale worked like a charm!

Overhead view of the internal workings of the ESU

Hunter spent the entire day fighting to revive an electrosurgical unit that was determined to stay dead. The machine is commonly used to perform delicate surgical procedures, and this item in particular was a major priority to the JPII staff, and they were really hoping we could get it up and running for them while we were here! Despite knowing that it wouldn’t turn on, when we first arrived we were very hopeful that we would be able to get it working since we had trained on this exact model of electrosurgical unit. However we quickly realized that it would be trickier than we first expected. The fuses, cable and power switch were all working fine when tested using a multimeter, which indicated that the issue with the unit was somewhere inside the electronic components of the machine. After doing a deep dive into both the service manual and the circuit schematics, he narrowed down the issue to the power supply board at the back of the device, which wasn’t providing the power that the unit needed to operate. Upon this discovery, Hunter along with Rhett removed this board, replaced it with our DC power supply, and SUCCESS! The unit was able to turn on! This victory however was short-lived, as the unit’s interface still wouldn’t respond to inputs, and indicated much more complex problems associated with the logic board. After struggling with the zombie electrosurgical unit for awhile longer, Hunter and Rhett unfortunately had to declare it dead, but not before the device decided to give them some not so kind parting words for disturbing it’s rest.

Parting words from the ESU

Hungry from our first day of medical equipment repairs, we headed off to dinner where we enjoyed delicious Guatemalan cuisine before retreating to Casa de Angel Hotel for journaling and relaxing! It’s been a full day and given us a lot to consider from the equipment we tested and repaired to the Guatemalans we observed going about their day. Time for a recharge and a reboot to be on top of our game for tomorrow. Happy 21st birthday to Stephanie!!

Showing off her engineering and gymnastics skills

¡Hola Guatemala!

Hello Everyone!

The first day of our trip started early! The BME Guatemala students gathered at Kirkland Circle at 3:40 am to catch our 6:00 am flight to Miami. Sleeping from one plane to the next, we swapped planes at the Miami airport at headed towards Guatemala city!

Perks of waking up for a 6:00 AM flight

Arriving in Guatemala, we took off our sweatshirts in the bright sunshine and mid-70's temperatures. We loaded the bus and made our way through narrow, busy streets towards our hotel. Exploring our new home, we loved the cute atmosphere and the avocado trees growing near the back patio.

On the bus downtown for a late lunch

Heading out into Guatemala City, Dr. P. guided us towards Saul Bistro where we enjoyed a refreshing late lunch. Our restaurant featured wonderful ensaladas and a variety of familiar and new dishes!

Enjoying fresh Guatemalan avocados

Chilling with our new friend at Saul Bistro

After saying goodbye to our new zebra friend, we wove in an out of the crowds towards Plaza de la Constitucion. The people of the city flowed around the plaza in bright colors - we had just missed a huge parade festival. On the square, clothing and street food markets dotted the corners of the space while locals streamed in and out of the stands.

Cathedral Metropolitan Basilica of Santiago de Guatemala

Soon, the sun started sinking behind the presidential palace and it was time to head back to the hotel for a night of preparation, reflection, and fun. Dr. P and Dr. Adams started the night off by directing the students in preparing our equipment and communication devices for tomorrow.

Post-late-night wings back at home

¡Estamos Listos! Preparation for Guatemala 2020

The VU BME Guatemala team is back at it in 2020! In a few short days our crew of 12 engineering undergraduates and our esteemed leaders, Dr. Cynthia Paschal and Dr. Nick Adams, will depart to Guatemala for a packed week of testing and repairing medical equipment. Meet the team below!

The 2020 BME Service Learning in Guatemala Team

Front: (left to right) Antonio Glenn, Aidan Pace, Cerie Ock, Christia Victoriano, Katie Stoehr, Stephanie Nolen, and Prof. Cynthia Paschal

Back: (left to right) Hunter Spivey, Michael Jindia, Rhett Britton, Prof. Nick Adams, Noah Mallory, Jorie Budzikowski, and Zach Eidman

To prepare for our trip, we have spent the past two months developing our medical equipment sleuthing skills. We have learned about and worked with electrosurgical units, sequential compression devices, defibrillators, vital signs monitors, and more. Many thanks to Project C.U.R.E. for lending us devices for practice! 

Troubleshooting the ECG on the defibrillator

Will he survive at 5000 ft? The SpO2 sensor thinks so.

Bet you've never had a Dean of Engineering take your blood pressure

We depart bright and early Sunday morning for Guatemala! The team will spend the first three days in Guatemala City working with Hospital Materno Infantil de Juan Pablo II and visiting Universidad del Valle. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with Universidad del Valle engineering students throughout the week. On Wednesday, we will move on to the city of Antigua, where we will work with Obras Sociales del Hermano Pedro and Hospital Nacional Pedro de Bethancourt.

We will be keeping in touch daily here with stories, progress updates, and photos. Please check back often to share the journey with us!

Alive, well, and ready for Guatemala!

Behind the Scenes

This trip was made possible through the hard work, coordination, and benevolence of many people. From fielding teams and evaluating hospital needs to supplying vital support and logistics, the services provided by these individuals were invaluable to our mission. All of you have our sincerest gratitude.

Project C.U.R.E.
Karen Bice
Danielle Rand

Vanderbilt University Department of Biomedical Engineering
Prof. Mike King
Prof. Amanda Lowery 
Matty Sevilla
Amanda King
Meagan Crawford
John Dunbar
Willy Reichert 

Vanderbilt University Center for Latin American Studies
Prof. Ted Fischer
Dr. Avery Dickins de Girón

Vanderbilt University School of Engineering
Prof. Chris Rowe
Prof. Tim Holman
Brenda Ellis
Pam Coyle
Michele Cedzich

Vanderbilt University Staff
Juliana Staples -- Office of Admissions
John Fellenstein -- VU Physics Machine Shop
Bob Patchin – VU Physics Machine Shop

Dr. Shari Green -- -- VU Zerfoss Student Health Center
Penny Meek -- VU Zerfoss Student Health Center
Craig Self – VUMC Department of Histopathology

VU Athletics

Hospital Infantil Juan Pablo II
Dra. Maritza Quex
Lic. Rudy Marroquin

INCAN
Dr. Eddie Gharzouzi
Dra. Sylvia Blijidenstein
Julio Valdez

Hospital Nacional Pedro de Bethancourt
Dr. Miguel Soto
Dra. Carmen Cifuentes 

Obras Sociales del Hermano Pedro
Sergio Morales
Anabela Morales
Dra. Julissa Piñeda
Bryan Valle

Guatemala Support Team
Ben Kessler - Logistics Coordinator
Andres Gonzalez -- Translator
Estuardo Mendoza -- Translator
Evi Perez -- Driver

Clara Chacon -- Antigua Community Volunteer (and Dr. P.’s awesome Spanish teacher)

Universidad del Valle de Guatemala

Prof. Luis Pedro Montenegro – for tireless leadership, coordination, and instruction

Prof. Carlos Esquit – for years of partnership in this collaboration

Profesor Miguel Zea

Prof. José Eduardo Morales

Prof. José Antonio Bagur

Prof. Pablo Oliva

Universidad del Valle de Guatemala Students
Ana Bartra 
André Rodas
Andrés Lainfiesta
Arturo García
Cecilia Marsicovetere
Christopher Chiroy Miranda
Dan Álvarez
Darwin Rivas
Delbert Custodio'
Diego Alejandro Juárez Lossi
Edwin Fernando Coronado Roche
Guillermo de León Archila
Jonathan Aguirre Orantes
José Alejandro Rivera García
José Ramón Corona Boch
José Roberto Ruano
Juan José Tzun
Julio Ronaldo Diéguez Ochoa
Luis Ralón
Luis Ruano
Marcos Benedict
María Belén Hernández
María Gabriela López Castellan
María José López Ayala
Marlon Josué Castillo Martínez
Michel Ramírez
Miguel Godoy Garín
Mynor Franco
Pedro Joaquín Castillo

Spring 2018 Service Learning in Guatemala Team
Prof. Cynthia Paschal
Prof. Nick Adams
Nicole Budgell
Leah Fassinger
Candace Grisham
Austin Hardcastle
Seiver Jorgensen
Chad Keller
Sheng-Yau Lim
Ariana Nicol
Tori Qualls
Nicholas Wigginton
Anna Word

Sophie Xie

Leaving Paradise

Our last day of the trip cannot be described with words. Some of us started the day with a walk back up to the cross overlooking Antigua and a morning coffee near the central square. After a quick breakfast, we took off for our first adventure at Finca Filadelphia.

During our tour of the coffee plantation, we were able to see the complete process of coffee from the plants to the roast. At the end, we tried fresh coffee right from the plantation. This provided the perfect boost of energy for the next excursion... zip lining. If you are a fan of flying over the trees while simultaneously feeling like you may fall hundreds of feet, zip lining is for you! We were able to take in the amazing view of the volcanoes and Antigua from above the trees (after you got over the fear aspect).

We wrapped up our time at Finca Filadelphia with lunch (including coffee cake) and gift shopping for authentic Guatemalan coffee. We returned to the city of Antigua and meandered through the Artisan market for souvenirs. After our last exploration through Antigua, we settled in for our last dinner in Guatemala at Las Palmas. Immediately after dinner, we returned to Guatemala city for 6 short hours before heading to the airport.

A 3 AM wake up call has never felt so refreshing.... just kidding. Most of us slept on the first flight from Guatemala to Dallas. Luckily, customs in Dallas was very peaceful and allowed for a smooth transition to our connecting flight. We picked up our first American meal in a week. Ironically, some of us chose a hispanic restaurant. Our last flight to Nashville flew by (pun is absolutely intended). We are now peacefully in our dorms unwinding and preparing for this upcoming week.

We want to express our sincerest gratitude for being able to go on this service trip and impact not only the hospitals but also the students and faculty we worked with from UVG.  We hope they can continue their awesome work until we return next time. Thanks for following us through our journey!

Closing Time.... One last call for Medical Equipment

Hola amigos! Today was our last day working in the hospitals in Guatemala. We returned to OSHP  and continued to inventory, test, repair, and organize the medical equipment. Halfway through the day we took a short break for lunch and were presently surprised with gifts from the leadership of OSHP. It included the photograph we took on the first day along with a letter expressing their appreciation and a calendar. It was an incredible experience to hear about the larger impact we would have on their patients and increasing their ability to serve those in need.

After lunch, we continued our work and made final presentations. We inventoried over 250 medical devices!!! It was a wonderful ending to our work week. We also enjoyed a joint dinner with the students and faculty of UVG with whom we worked with during the week. Professor Luis Pedro Montenegro gave the Vandy Crew  "Guatemalan goody bags" filled with wonderful mementos. In our penultimate post, we leave you with a couple reflections of our Antigua endeavors.

Dr. Paschal
This has been an amazing week in which we tested and fixed more equipment than any group I've ever brought to Guatemala.  This is due in large part to two factors -- the deep engagement of Prof. Luis Pedro and so many of his del Valle students and some serious organization on our part.   I am really proud of Anna and Seiver who did a fabulous job designing and implementing a system for us to use to inventory, collect notes on, and tag well over 250 pieces of medical equipment at OSHP.  Working with the del Valle crew brought in such strong electronics perspective to complement our biomedical perspectives.   The synergy was both productive and instructive.  Our BME's have knowledge and confidence now that they will carry forward in their careers.  To top off a wonderful week, I used Linus Lee's Pass the Pigs style to roll an incredible double leaning jowler!

Sophie
It has been an incredible week in Guatemala and the past couple of days spent at OSHP have been both exciting and rewarding. When we first arrived at OSHP, I was overwhelmed by theCecilia and I worked on  I have learned so much from her and the other the del Valle students this past week, and hopefully we will still be in contact even after the trip.

Quality AND Quantity

What better way to start the day than 5:30 AM cardio? You may come up with some good answers to this, but nothing can beat the view of a sunrise over THREE volcanoes. This was an amazing start to our second full day in Antigua. The sunrise perfectly illuminated the city as well as the green backdrop of three volcanoes.

After our short hike, we returned to the hotel to get ready for Obras Sociales del Hermano Pedro (OSHP). OSHP was nothing short of a dream for biomedical engineers. We entered a room filled with hundreds of medical devices needing our attention. Seiver and Anna explained their wonderful inventory process, and we got to work. By the end of day one of two, we had completely inventoried 172 devices! We have some short highlights from Anna and Seiver detailing their excitement about today's successes.

Anna and Seiver: Masters of Inventory
Today was the first day of the OSHP inventory project.  We would rate it as a success. We were able to accomplish much more than we originally anticipated because of the hard work of our fellow Vanderbilt and del Valle students as well as our wonderful translators Andres and Estuardo. The colored labels proved effective in easily identifying the state of the devices as we expected. We were exited to be able to easily update the excel sheet and print labels for the devices as we worked. We hope that OSHP will be able to continue using our organization system after we have left and that the del Valle students that we worked with will be able to return and continue their excellent work. We are looking forward to finishing the inventory tomorrow on our last day working in Guatemala.

We ended our day with a pleasant meal at a local Guatemalan restaurant recommended by Dr. P's longtime friend and Spanish teacher Clara. During the meal we were treated to a traditional Antiguan dance performance which integrated colorful masks and clothes, and maracas; they even recruited Anna and Tori to join in the production! Tomorrow is our final day of work and our last day with the del Valle students. It is not possible to put in words what an incredible experience this partnership has been. These dedicated and talented engineers have taught us so much and have been such an amazing asset to the program, we are truly honored to have worked alongside them. We'll stop their today before all of us get too teary-eyed, and also because we've been up for nearly 20 hours. Hasta mañana!