SAN ANTONIO – Most emergency physicians will say they've seen it all. But training didn't prepare some doctors for what they first saw 10 years ago at one of the largest trash dumps in Central America.
“Absolutely not. The degree of poverty is beyond what I could conceive,” Dr. Marie Berkenkamp, a pediatric emergency room nurse at Methodist Hospital and a member of Greater San Antonio Emergency Physicians, said.
Jenny Hartsell, a registered nurse and executive director of the nonprofit organization Shared Beat agreed.
“It is really hard to imagine even when you’re seeing it. It’s hard to believe,” Hartsell said.
Hartsell and her husband, Wright, a GSEP medical director, said they founded Shared Beat to help physicians give from the heart.
Every February and July for the past decade, 25-member teams of physicians and volunteers pay their own way to Guatemala City for an intense weeklong visit among the poorest of the poor.
Hartsell said at first patients avoided eye contact with the doctors. But things have now changed.
“Ten years later, we’re seeing smiling faces,” she said. “It just makes us want to work harder.”
The doctors said much of their work involves treating families who live and work in the midst of the towering trash dump.
But rather than being overwhelmed by the challenges of that environment, the Hartsells said they focus on supporting the educational effort already in place, by promoting health awareness.
“We keep those kids well. They’re our family,” Dr. Wright Hartsell said.
Jenny Hartsell said she and her husband's goal is to make patients healthy enough to learn.
“You can imagine if you’re not educated and are not empowered to move forward with your life,” she said.
Through its fundraising efforts, Shared Beat awards scholarships to young people from that same community.
“We provide scholarships to anyone who wants to study anything in the medical field,” Berkenkamp said.
So far, in addition to nurses who’ve been trained, others are studying medicine, speech therapy and nutrition in Guatemala, Berkenkamp said.
“We’re very excited about the program because it brings them an everyday health resource,” Berkenkamp said.
She also said the students’ families can receive a small stipend to make up for their children no longer working in the dump.
“This is a dream for them, and now we’ve tried to make it a reality for those who are dedicated to working hard,” Berkenkamp said.