Burrell Boom residents get medical assistance
The flood waters are slowly receding and affected communities are on their way to recovery. Today a News Five team accompanied Joint Task Force Bravo comprising the U.S. and Belize militaries as they visited the Belize District to provide medical assistance to the residents who are facing diseases in the aftermath of the floods. Duane Moody reports.
Duane Moody, Reporting
As we can see from this aerial display, water levels on the banks of the Belize River have been subsiding and when we landed, the scene at the Burrell Boom Community Centre was unexpected with people waiting in long lines patiently to get some form of assistance. Commander, Richard Somers explains.
Lt. Col. Richard Somers, Army Forces Cmdr., JTF-Bravo, Honduras
“We are here today to provide medical and dental screening plus some preventative health classes for the people of Burrell Boom and we’re working with our partner nation. We have doctors from Belize and Honduras with us today, just providing care for the folks around here that have been affected by the recent floods.”
Lt. Tammy McNamara, Chief, U.S. Military Liaison, Belize
“During the time frame in the flooding, the Commander of the Belize Defence Force, Brigadier General Dario Tapia, requested our assistance in getting a medical exercise here to assist the people that were affected by the flooding.”
Residents of Rancho Dolores, Double Head Cabbage and Lemonal Villages came out in numbers. Over two hundred people visited the centre hoping to get medical assistance.
Walter Jones, Resident, Burrell Boom Village
“Just to get a medical check-up. I’ve been experiencing some lower back pains.”
Elvira Pook, Resident, Rancho Dolores Village
“After the flood we needs a good check up, after the water.”
Duane Moody
“What have you seen so far to be the problem?”
Elvira Pook
“I’m suffering from a giddiness, I don’t know if because of the fright from the lot of water, but I sure want to know what the problem is. He tells us how to take care of our water. We done get some pills from the Red Cross already to treat our water and we get a little treatment—we get vitamin, we get soap and we get some thing for worms and we are thankful for it.”
Angie Smith, Resident, Burrell Boom Village
“After the recent flooding I found that most of them just keeping having flu, some of them have rash that come out. I have a son that is an asthmatic and then like it just came worst like every time. I got treatment about three weeks ago and this is the fourth week and it’s right back.”
According to Liaison Officer of JTF Bravo, Dr. Wilmer Amador, despite the various illnesses, the most prevalent is respiratory complications.
Dr. Wilmer Amador, Liaison Officer, JTF-Bravo, Honduras
“Upper respiratory conditions, upper respiratory infections, dermatological conditions such as a little bit of scabies, fungal infections, some cases of over infected skins then general muscular and skeletal pains especially in older parents.”
Duane Moody
“Okay, The majority are adults, children?”
Dr. Wilmer Amador
“I would say that approximately fifty percent adults and fifty percent pediatric patients.”
To facilitate with the treatment and prevention program, people were separated in groups and lessons were given on preparation techniques in case of events such as flooding and contamination.
Dr. Wilmer Amador
“The first station is this that you see right now. We are about to start with this fifth group. We call it the preventing medicine station. At the preventative medicine station we remind people about preventive health aspects to consider especially after a flooding. Water treatment, personal hygiene to prevent fungal infections and a number of conditions, water treatment to make sure the water is properly chlorinated. After they receive that they come out this way and they go to the next station which is the screening or nursing station. Some of those patients can be easily treated by the R.N.s. they are very experienced registered nurses and those persons who are sicker, we make sure they see a doctor in the next station. The doctor has a privacy area over there where they can examine the patients and they are assisted by persons from Belize; nurses. And if the patients need medication, they fill a prescription which is filled in the last station which is the pharmacy.”
The Joint Task Force-Bravo and the Belize Defence Force in collaboration with the Ministry of Health in Belize are targeting Burrell Boom Village and Crooked Tree.
Lt.Tammy Mcnamara
“And tomorrow on the fourteenth and fifteenth to fifteenth we will be targeting Crooked Tree, Sandhill and Gardenia and any of the areas that outside. They will be based in Crooked Tree, so anyone in the area can come—it’s not just for Crooked Tree People—anybody in the area can come and get medical assistance.”
Duane Moody reporting for News Five.
