Tulane Outreach to Romania Medical Mission to Rural Romania

March 26th-April 3rd, 2010

 

 

INTRODUCTION

Tulane Outreach to Romania (TOR) is a Tulane University School of Medicine student organization. Our mission is to improve the health care and educational opportunities in rural Romania and to develop partnerships between New Orleans and rural Romania.  Between March 26th and April 3rd 2008, TOR will lead a specialty-oriented medical mission to two villages in Iasi County, northeastern Romania. The team will be composed of medical doctors and medical students from the United States and Romania.  This is the third  medical mission with physicians from the US and the fifth overall.  For more information, photographs and news clip from Romanian Public Television coverage, please visit www.fdm.ro.

 

 

BACKGROUND

This medical mission is organized by the Daniel Murariu Foundation together with Tulane Outreach to Romania and medical students and residents from University of Medicine and Pharmacy Iasi.  TOR was started in 2007 as an independent organization within the School of Medicine and is open to all students interested in making a change in Romania.  TOR seeks to bridge the gap between Tulane University medical students and medical needs and opportunities in Romania.  This experience benefits rural Romanian people as well as Tulane and Romanian medical students and physicians through direct care and cultural exchange.  Furthermore, this experience is an excellent training ground for leadership and service in international medicine.

 

The Daniel Murariu Foundation is a Non-Governmental Organization founded in 2006 to provide medical and educational resources to poor rural areas of Romania.  These goals are achieved through direct provision of OB/GYN, Cardiology and Pediatric care in rural Romania, provision of scholarships for rural Romanian children to attend high school, and public health research.

 

Members of the US team include:

Conrad, Tracy, D.O- Tulane Medicine/Pediatrics Residency Director

Fotino, Domnica, M.D., M.P.H. - Tulane Internal Medicine Staff

Mark Cassidy, M.D.- Tulane Cardiology Fellowship Director

Murariu, Daniel, M.D., M.P.H. – General Surgery Resident, University of Hawaii

 

Radu Postelnicu

Aaron Short

Amy Paulik

Brian Adams

Brian Zwecker

Ben Leach

Christina Le

Emily Newsom

Stephen Au

Renee Nolen

Katie Young

Heather Jordan

Shea Sizemore

 

 

Complete list of members of the Romanian team will be posted in the near future, but thus far include:

 

4 Gastroentologists

2 cardiologists

1 pediatrician

1 obstretician/gynecologist

 

Madalina Popazu

Carmen Pascu

Valentin Ghitun

Schiopu Cristina

Smaranda Morar

Rares Ababii

Tamer Sahawnen

Simona Postelnicu

Ancuta Hutuleac

Ali Sheikh Nader

Elena Popa

Tudor Cristogel

Alexandru Ungureanu

Ramona Nechita

Rami Al Hiary

Emanuela Botez

Patricia Calapod

 

LOCATION & ACTIVITIES

The medical mission to Romania will take place in and around the villages of Comarna and Osoi, Iasi County. We intend to set up three teams composed equally of American and Romanian members.

 

The clinics will be free and open to the local population.  Previous missions have demonstrated great need for specialty care.  We are preparing for a high patient volume. Our focus is specialty consultations in obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics, and cardiology.  This is a hands-on learning experience for students- they will assist the physicians and perform tests such as electrocardiograms, abdominal, pelvic and pregnancy ultrasounds, urinalyses, and Papanicolau smears.

 

TOR will have an immediate impact on the health and lives of the patients through direct care discussed above.  Education and public health are equally important to our mission.  We will work to improve care year round by identifying barriers to care, partnering with and supporting local primary care doctors.  We will screen for chronic diseases and cancers.  We will provide preventative care for women through annual PAP smear tests; these are not widely available and the prevalence of uterine cancers is reportedly high.  We will provide continuing education specialty training for primary care physicians on the topics of their choice given by the participating physicians.

 

We will record data on the patients seen, so we may draw some epidemiologic conclusions regarding the prevalence of diseases in the villages visited with the possibility of presenting the information at conferences or in journals.   To ensure continuity between our efforts and patient’s primary care provider we will translate the Assessment and Plan for each patient into Romanian to give to their primary care doctor.

 

The students in the masters of public health will conduct public health campaigns in the area schools, as well for the patients in the waiting rooms. Their activity will be overseen by Cipriana Mihaescu-Pintea, lecturer at the National School of Public Health Management, Bucharest, Romania.  Part of the last few days of the mission will be spent touring several of the major hospitals in Iasi as well as an official visit to the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Iasi.  We hope to gain better insight into how typical Romanian hospitals are run. 

 

Daily discussions, exchange of opinions and perceptions, and collaborative clinical care will facilitate a greater understanding and exchange between the participating medical professionals.  It is our goal that this project becomes well established in the Tulane and Romanian communities.  Furthermore, we hope that this experience serves as a model and training ground to improve medical care and education in Romania and around the world!

 

 

 

Tentative Itinerary for TOR Medical Mission 2010

March 26 - April 3, 2010

 

Wed:               -US participants leave New Orleans

Friday:             -US and Romanian participants meet to divide up the teams and materials and                   medicines

Saturday-Tue: -830 AM-12 PM- work in clinics in Comarna and Osoi

-12 PM and 1 PM break

-1 PM-last patient- work

-8-9 dinner

-9-930 PM daily discussion

-group dinner on 8 PM on Tuesday

Wed-Fri:          -leave for Brasov, visit to Dracula’s castle, Poiana Brasov

Sat:                  -US participants leave for the US

 

 

PARTNERSHIPS  & RESOURCES

 

The medical mission will be organized in Romania by the Daniel Murariu Foundation.  The US participants are organized by Tulane Outreach to Romania of Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana.

 

The participating physicians of the US team will be drawn from the Tulane University School of Medicine of New Orleans, LA and University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine.  The students are members of Tulane Outreach to Romania; 9 are enrolled in the Tulane University School of Medicine and 3 are enrolled in the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Diseases.  Romanian medical students will be drawn from the Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Iasi.

 

General Electric (www.ge.com) has donated an electrocardiogram machine to the Daniel Murariu Foundation for use during medical missions. Medicines and basic medical supplies  will be provided the International Hospital for Children (www.theihc.org) and Hope for Others (www.hopeforothers.org), which will also provide 500 toothbrushes and toothpaste.  Lions Club of Arlington, VA will provide 500 glasses to be distributed to those needing eyewear.

 

Clinic space will be provided by local authorities and family physicians.

 

Vanity tshirts with information about the medical mission are provided by Impressioni Clothing (http://www.impressioniclothing.com/index/index.jpg).

 

We will provide medical skills and basic examination tools and supplies, such as blood pressure cuffs, stethoscopes, rubbing alcohol, compression gauzes, etc. 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

Tulane physicians and students will partner with Romanian colleagues to provide OB/GYN, Cardiology and Pediatric care.  Our goals are to establish strong relationships between Tulane and Romanian medical communities and to provide outstanding care during the mission.  We will also and work to improve care year-round.  This experience will benefit the rural Romanian communities through service, Tulane and Romanian students and physicians through partnership and cultural exchange.

 

We thank you for your interest!

 

 

WEBSITES

 

The Daniel Murariu Foundation website: www.fdm.ro (details about previous missions)

Tulane Outreach to Romania website: http://www.tulane.edu/~romania

General information about Romania: http://www.turism.ro/english/index.php

City of Iasi Tourism Board: http://www.turism-iasi.ro/

Video about Iasi, Romania:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJWWlPMVnB4&feature=related

 

CONTACTS

Daniel Murariu, MD, MPH , founder of the Daniel Murariu Foundation

Mobile (808) 722-1114 (US) or 0744 804 888 (Romania); Email:  dmurariu@fdm.ro

 

Radu Postelnicu,  president of Tulane Outreach to Romania

Mobile (203) 570-0323; rposteln@tulane.edu

 

Madalina Popazu, student leader of the Romanian group

Mobile 074 665 6454; madalina84us@yahoo.com

For tv video please click HERE.