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The post 2007 Port Antonio, Jamaica appeared first on VOSH Minnesota.

The VOSH volunteers from Minnesota and South Dakota were hosted by the local Rotary Club. This was a small group of about 14 which supplied noon meals on the work days as well as a couple of evening meals at Rotarian’s homes.

The team worked three days at the Rotary Avoidable Blindness Clinic in Port Antonio examining about 750 people, nearly all of them needing glasses. They also gave out several hundred pairs of sunglasses.  About 50 cases of glaucoma were diagnosed and started on treatments with follow-up scheduled at local health care facilities. Several bilateral cataracts were found as well as many sun related diseases such as pterygiums.

Housing for this mission was at Frenchman’s Cove which is an older ocean side resort about eight miles from the work site. It was a good spot for relaxing after work. R&R included rafting on the Rio Grande on bamboo rafts, waterfalls and time at the beach.

The next scheduled visit to Port Antonio will be in March of 2011. Contact Dr. Morrison if interested at lmorrison52@msn.com

The post 2009 Port Antonio, Jamaica appeared first on VOSH Minnesota.

A special thanks needs to be given to Dr. Satya Parvataneni, (Dr.P) and the Jamaican people for their exceptional hospitality. Dr. P is a local physician in Port Antonio and an active member of Rotary. He and his fellow Rotarians are dedicated to the health and well being of the people of Port Antonio. He has been instrumental in hosting over 20 VOSH mission in addition to countless surgical missions.

There where seventeen Americans and one Canadian volunteer, including doctors and laypersons that made the journey to Jamaica.

• Dr. Larry Morrison, optometrist; noon Rotarian, Detroit Lakes, MN
• Dr. Michael Morrison, optometrist; morning Rotarian, Detroit Lakes, MN
• Dr. Brad Meier, optometrist, Lions member, Watertown, SD
• Dr. John Emery, physician, Kiwanian, Detroit Lakes, MN
• Christina Morrison, Detroit Lakes, MN
• Jolene Meier, Watertown, SD
• Jay Meier, Watertown, SD
• Tim and Cheri Bergien, Tim is a noon Rotarian, Detroit lakes, MN
• Greg and Gina Nosal Brad and Janet Green, both noon Rotarians, Detroit lakes, MN
• Jackie Green, Princeville, KY
• Ryan Thompson, Fargo, ND
• Amber Link, Dallas, TX
• Sara Fischer, Dakota Dunes, SD
• Don Fletcher, Fort Garry Rotarian, Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada

The mission began on February 27, 2011 and lasted eight days. Equipment brought with included 6,000 pairs of glasses, sunglasses and readers; ophthalmic examination equipment and $20,000 in ophthalmic pharmaceuticals donated by Allergan. A little fewer than 1,000 patients were seen in three days of clinic and around 1,500 pairs of glasses were dispensed. These patients were preselected based on need by Dr. P. and volunteers in Port Antonio, Jamaica.

In addition, 129 glaucoma patients were seen. Forty one new cases of glaucoma were diagnosed, treatment initiated, and referred to the Jamaican public health system for follow up. Sixty four severe cataracts patients were seen with 26 referred for surgery. Several sun related diseases such as pterygiums were seen. There were also many with diabetic retinopathy, hypertension, keratoconus and other miscellaneous eye diseases.

The post 2011 Port Antonio, Jamaica appeared first on VOSH Minnesota.

The MN and SD VOSH chapters combined to go to Port Antonio, Jamaica from Feb. 24th to March 3rd, 2019. The mission was led by Dr. Larry Morrison, an optometrist from Detroit Lakes, MN. With the help of social media and the VOSH International website, the group was larger than usual with 29 people going. There were 5 optometrists and 4 optometric students from the Southern California College of Optometry. There were 5 optometric techs and opticians. Nine team members had been on previous VOSH missions and 20 new people were on their first mission.

We were hosted by the Port Antonio Rotary club and supported by the Detroit Lakes noon and breakfast Rotary clubs. Through fund raisers, we were able to purchase an eyecare tonometer which worked well since no eye drops were needed to get a reading. We also purchased reading glasses and plano sun glasses.

The mission was very rewarding with around 900 Jamaicans being examined and most fitted with glasses and sunwear. We worked for three days. We did tonometry on everyone over the age of 35 and internal eye exams on everyone. We diagnosed and helped treat several cases of glaucoma and other diseases. Many referrals were made for cataract surgery. We were able to take several prescription eye drops donated by Allergan with a retail value of $164,000.

The remainder of the time was great R and R doing bamboo rafting, snorkeling, a trip to Reach Falls and enjoying the beach at Frenchmans Cove resort where we stayed. The food was great and the Jamaican people were wonderful.

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