Mayflower Medical Outreach

Mayflower Medical Outreach

Location/s:

Jinotega, Nicaragua

Frequncy:

1-3 annual trips

Areas of Focus:

Rural otology and otolaryngology, audiology, otolaryngology training for physicians and residents.

Affiliations:

Lenin Fonseca Hospital in Managua, Nicaragua; Victoria Motta Hospital in Jinotega, Nicaragua.

Specific Volunteer or Resource Needs:

Donations of surgical instruments and supplies, microscopes.

Summary

Since 1999, Mayflower Medical Outreach (MMO) has sent teams of nurses, otolaryngologists, audiologists, and neurotologists to Nicaragua to perform surgeries, including cochlear implants for children, and provide training to local medical professionals. Each year a team of otolaryngologists and nurses travel to the mountain town of Jinotega to see patients and perform surgeries. This is done in conjunction with a broader effort that includes construction and physician training. At least one trip each year is dedicated to improving otolaryngology at the Lenin Fonseca Hospital in Managua. Lenin Fonseca hospital is the site of resident specialty education and is the main tertiary referral center for otolaryngology. In Managua our efforts are mainly focused on physician and resident education. This includes staffing clinics, teaching surgical techniques, providing temporal bone dissection labs, and performing more difficult skull-base surgeries. There are also two to three annual mission trips in which audiologists from across the United States participate.