Wings of Hope partners with Patrulla Aérea Civil Colombiana (Colombia Civil Air Patrol), or PAC. This team of volunteer pilots and health care professionals has been flying into the most isolated places in Colombia, performing health brigades for the country’s most vulnerable communities for nearly 60 years.
The places they visit have access to only the most basic medical services. If they need to see a specialist or require surgery, the people must travel to larger cities. Securing an appointment can take several months, and most patients can’t afford the cost of traveling and staying in the cities — not to mention losing a day or more of wages and arranging for childcare.
Since getting to the hospital can be nearly impossible for people living in these communities, PAC takes the hospital to them. For two days, the organization’s pop-up services transform a local medical center or school into full-blown operating and consultation rooms. During these brigades, a PAC team of about 10 pilots and 50 volunteers set up a full working hospital with surgeons, pediatricians, dermatologists, nurses, optometrists — specialists the local people would likely never have the chance to see otherwise.
“When you’re a doctor, you always think of helping people that need you,” said Valentina Murillo, PAC medical director. “And when you’re offering regular health services, you do help and improve people’s lives — but reaching these vulnerable communities, you see the love and gratitude in people’s eyes.”
Murillo added that “being able to offer preventative services, on top of healing people’s illnesses, is key.”
PAC conducts health brigades once or twice a month, serving about 700 people every time. Recently, PAC conducted a brigade focused on pediatric and nutritional health in La Primavera, Vichada, the second largest department in Colombia with the highest acute malnutrition prevalence among children under five. While they were carrying out the brigade, the local clinic admitted a 13-year-old boy who had had an appendectomy a few days earlier. The boy’s abdomen was distended, and he was experiencing discomfort. With limited equipment and supplies, the local doctor could not ascertain why the boy wasn’t recovering from this routine procedure. Accessing treatment beyond the local doctor’s office would not be easy: the boy would have had to wait months for a specialist’s appointment or drive about seven hours to the nearest urgent care center.
“The town’s doctor knew our brigade included pediatricians and radiologists, so they referred him to us. Our pop-up hospital was able to take him in, perform an ultrasound and further examine his symptoms,” said Alejandra Bernal, director of communications and marketing for PAC.
The PAC medical team decided the best course of action was to request an air ambulance, as the threat of sepsis, a life-threatening condition that stems from infection, were high. PAC performed all necessary paperwork, including ultrasound results and the pediatrician’s diagnosis and referral, ensuring the boy would receive care immediately upon arrival at the hospital.
When he got to the hospital, the boy’s diagnosis was confirmed as acute peritonitis, an extremely serious condition.
“We’re happy to report he received treatment just in time,” said Bernal. “If PAC hadn’t been there, the outcome would have been fatal. Talk about being in the right place at the right time!”