Episode 1: What is Be the Change Already Doing?

“Know from whence you came. If you know whence you came, there are absolutely no limitations to where you can go.” -James Baldwin

Have you ever been on a Medical Mission Trip? I would LOVE to hear if your experience is like Be the Change’s or what was different that you loved. Comment below and let us hear from you! If not, well be walking you through what one of BTC’s clinics looks like, so you can see how the new initiative we are going to soon introduce will integrate into what we are already doing.

Prefer watching the Vlog Episode instead of reading?

In 2015, I had started BTC to provide free medical and dental care to global communities that would have limited access to healthcare otherwise. We started our outreach in my home town in the Philippines and then, thanks to Joseph Brewster, we expanded to Myanmar.

So, pick one of the locations and after reading this next line, close your eyes and envision that you are in our waiting room. Take your USA-understanding of what a waiting room is like and replace it with the following and join me as you journey through our medical mission clinic:

You just completed registration where you were handed a registration card and number and you are waiting to be seen by our vitals team. Imagine never knowing if you are diabetic or have high blood pressure? We’ll you are about to find out. Our vitals team provides glucose screenings, records your height, weight, temperature and blood pressure.

Never heard of “hypertension” or “diabetes”? Maybe you’ve heard of it, but never had the opportunity to learn about it? There are education opportunities to learn about various health topics and how to become proactive about your health as you wait to be seen.

Next our Registered Nurses will assess to see how our team can best assist you. Have a headache, allergies or something that can be addressed with an Over-the-Counter medication? You get to be fast tracked straight to the pharmacy. Have a fever or something that needs to be looked into more? You enter the que to be seen by our Physician.

Often, we have local healthcare professionals that come along side of our US team to serve. No language barrier there. So unless our volunteers from the US happen to speak the native dialect, then translators are essential members of our team.

The Physician will write a prescription on the registration card and will send you over to the Pharmacy. At the bare minimum you will receive vitamins and a hygiene pack of shampoo, tooth brush, tooth paste etc. The pharmacy team will get your prescriptions ready, tell you about your medications and answer any questions you may have.

While all this is going on, we have a hygienist who provides sealants. These are placed on cavity -free teeth to prevent cavities from forming. This is paired with proper teeth-brushing education as well. Have trouble with your vision? We have donated glasses and readers available to see if they provide relief.

Stay tuned for the next episode. I am going to invite y’all into my brain so you can see how the wheels started to turn as I realized there was a better approach to how we can provide our healthcare to global communities. Until next time!

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