Hue – Vietnam (Mission 23)
March 24-29, 2019
Arpan Global Charities recently returned from Hue in Vietnam after completing its 23rd International Medical Mission in March of 2019. This was Arpan’s third mission to Vietnam. The Arpan team served at two hospitals in Hue, our host hospital Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy and Hue Central Hospital. Hue University is the third largest Medical University in Vietnam (after universities in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City). These two hospitals and local community clinics provide medical services to a large population covering the city of Hue, the highland provinces, and Central Vietnam.
Our multidisciplinary team of 21 medical practitioners and 8 non-medical volunteers from CHOC Children’s and St Joseph Hospital had a remarkable experience serving and learning alongside our Vietnamese colleagues. Our team consisted of volunteers from the fields of nursing (Cindy Baker-Fox and Kristine Golden- CHOC), cardiothoracic surgery (Brian Palafox- CHOC), colorectal surgery (Beverley Petrie- UCLA), orthopedic surgery (Paul Beck-SJO Phil Krueger- UCSF), pediatric otolaryngology (Gurpreet Ahuja- CHOC), urology (Ashok Kar- SJO), internal medicine (Huong Thi Duong, Christine Nguyen), neonatology (Sudeep Kukreja- CHOC), pediatric infectious diseases (Jasjit Singh- CHOC), pediatric neurology (Mary Zupanc- CHOC), anesthesia (Jeff Sarmiento- CHOC), pharmacy (Rita & Lyle Jew- UCSF), radiology (Dan Vu- SJO), rehab medicine (Thao Duong- Stanford) and dentistry (Hien Duong, Vazrick Navasartian- UCLA).
Our team provided medical care for over 500 patients in various settings including inpatient, outpatient and dental clinics. Nearly 40 surgeries were performed by our surgeons. A key component of this Mission was the sharing of information. Our physicians and nurses gave a series of formal lectures, informal teaching at the bedside and two-way information sharing. Hundreds of medical students, medical residents and other physicians and nurses participated in the weeklong lecture series, earning Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits.
The non-medical volunteers, led by Sr Thuy Tran from SJO, did extensive outreach to several orphanages, a home for the elderly, a preschool for impoverished children and community health clinics.
This Mission was the labor of love of Paul Beck and wife H. Thi Duong Beck. Thi’s family heritage was from the Hue area and two of her sisters Thao and Hien joined the Hue Team.
All who participated were blessed by this experience, the camaraderie and the joy of serving.
