2013 Mission

Our twelfth trip to Eucador,  CAMTA 2013 at the Un Canto a la Vida was another successful and rewarding mission.

Thirty  adults received hip arthroplasties.  We focus on adults who can return to work and make a difference in the lives of their families. Smith and Nephew, a major international orthopedic corporation, donated all the hip prostheses for the fifth consecutive year.

Our surgical teams performed 28 procedures on 20 children: hip surgeries, tendon surgeries, clubfoot surgeries and other operations. For the first time CAMTA used the Ponsetti casting method on three young children. This technique corrects congenital clubfoot without invasive surgery. All these kids will have more active childhoods and will grow up with healthy joints. 

CAMTA medical professionals offered teaching sessions to their Ecuadorean counterparts and donated surgical instruments to some of our host hospitals. We delivered a SIGN nail system to the Hospital in Macas.  Patients suffering broken bones in highway or farm accidents can now be treated  with SIGN intermedullary nails at this rural hospital, instead of having to travel to a larger center for more complex surgery, or, worse yet, not being treated at all.  Our partner Dr. Telmo Tapia is actively looking for another rural hospital where CAMTA can donate a SIGN system and train the medical personnel in its use in 2014. Drs. Paul Moreau and John Lilley also visited Babahoyo, where they gave instructions on an online reporting system, and tips for taking better photographs of X-rays.

Canadian Ambassador to Ecuador Pamela O’Donnell joined the CAMTA team at the hospital to see firsthand what we do. She spent an afternoon touring the OR and the Ward, observing part of a surgery and engaging with the team, patients and their families. Ambassador O’Donnell told the team that the work CAMTA does in Ecuador makes her very proud to be Canadian.

Ninety-two volunteers, from five Canadian provinces, one American state, and New Zealand, traveled to Quito to make the mission a success. Forty student translators from two high schools in Quito and several adult translators made explaining procedures to patients and their families much easier. We had two communications volunteers on-site to blog about the daily activities of the team. Other volunteers who stayed home in Canada gave their time and energy.

We received financial support from more than 1500 individuals and corporations, as well as donations of supplies and materials.  Rotary and Lions Clubs continue to support our work. A dozen Ecuadorean corporations donated food, supplies and medications.

Once again, we appreciate and value the team collaboration of the Tierra Nueva nurses, doctors, pharmacists, biomedical personnel and the social workers. 

2013 TEAM MEMBERS

Name	Role
Adela Sandigo Gross	RN – Ward – Adult
Alex Cabral	Translator
Alex Webb	Student – General
Alexandra Cevallos	Translator
Aline Pourbaix Young	Administration
Alyssa Chappell	RN – Ward – Pediatric
Andrea Woo	Physician – Family Practice
Andrew Broad	Student – General
Angela Rogers
Armando Escalona	Respiratory Therapist
Barb Moreau	Administration
Ben Herman	Resident – Orthopedics
Brenda Corie	Physiotherapist
Cathy Moreau	Lay Person
Cori Dysart	RN – Operating Room – Adult
Deb Chalupa	RN – Ward – Adult
Denis Joly	Student – Medical
Dianne Cortez	RN – Ward – Pediatric
Donna Brown	RN – Operating Room – Pediatric
Edward Masson	Physician – Orthopedic Surgeon – Adult
Eileen Guilfoyle	RN – Operating Room – Pediatric
Erin Rezansoff	RN – Recovery Room – Adult
Francisco Gallardo	Translator
Glenn Day	Respiratory Therapist
Gloria Ribero	RN – Ward – Adult
Greg Zinter	Information Technologist/Patient Admitting Clerk
Hannah Turner	Translator
In Memory of Consuelo Alvarez	Translator
Jackie McDonald	RN – Operating Room – Adult
James Jarvis	Physician – Orthopedic Surgeon – Pediatric
Janet Roberts	Student – Medical
Janice Kung	Communications – Mission Blogger
Jenn Kitzan	Lay Person
Jennifer Jiang	Student – General
Jim Raso	Information Technologist/Patient Admitting Clerk
John Holmes	Physician – Anesthesiologist – Adult
John Lilley	Physician – Anesthesiologist – Pediatric
Judith Black	Physiotherapist
Judith Chaffee	RN – Ward – Adult
Justine Ferguson	Physiotherapy Assistant
Kathy Bonitz	RN – Operating Room – Adult
Keisha St. Arnaud	RN – Operating Room – Adult
Khaled Almansoori	Physician – Orthopedic Surgeon – Pediatric
Kristen Redhead	Physiotherapist
Krystle Chilibecki	Physiotherapist
Lisa Bleackley	RN – Ward – Adult
Lori Finley	RN – Recovery Room – Adult
Lucina M. Correa	Translator
Lyn Demchuk	RN – Operating Room – Adult
Lynne Korobanik	RN – Recovery Room – Pediatric
Mairi Gordon	RN – Recovery Room – Adult
Marc Moreau	Physician – Orthopedic Surgeon – Pediatric
Marina MacLeod	RN – Operating Room – Adult
Marta Mora	Translator
Mary Hurlburt	Physician – Family Practice
Matthew Moreau	Travel Person/Logistics
Megan Cashin	Physician – Orthopedic Surgeon – Pediatric
Melaney Storozynski	RN – Operating Room – Pediatric
Natalie Buu	Physician – Anesthesiologist – Pediatric
Natasha Lineham	RN – Ward – Pediatric
Paul Moreau	Physician – Orthopedic Surgeon – Adult
Paul Leung	Physician – Orthopedic Surgeon – Adult
Pauline Worsfold	RN – Recovery Room – Adult
Rachel Oates	Physiotherapist
Rejean Cloutier	Physician – Orthopedic Surgeon – Adult
Robin Dufresne	RN – Ward – Adult
Sabrina Brown	RN – Ward – Pediatric
Saifee Rashiq	Physician – Anesthesiologist – Adult
Saison Demitor	O.R. Technician
Sammy Ruiz	Translator/Logistics
Sandra Henkel	Communications – Mission Blogger
Sarah Lefebvre	RN – Ward – Adult
Scott Moorman	Student – General
Shannon Begg	RN – Operating Room – Pediatric
Shelley McEachern	RN – Operating Room – Adult
Shelly Carson	RN – Ward – Adult
Steven Harkema	Student – Nursing
Sumit Gupta	Physician – Orthopedic Surgeon – Pediatric
Toby Cubitt	Translator
Wendy Read	Lay Person