OFFICIALS of the Remote Area Medical (RAM) Guyana Incorporated and its United States partner mission paid their first courtesy call on Guyana’s new President, Donald Ramotar, highly optimistic that collaboration with the Guyana Government will continue into the future. The team, accompanied by Minister of Health, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran, and RAM Board Chairman, Patrick de Groot, included Volunteer Director of Operation, Stan Brock, Operations Member, Jim Massengill and Regional Director, Captain Terrence Trapnell.
RAM USA has been involved in outreach missions of a charitable nature, throughout Guyana, since 1993, airlifting patients from remote areas in emergency instances, facilitating an active programme on HIV/AIDS in the interior, and arranging routine visits from agricultural and veterinary experts.
Trapnell told the Government Information Agency (GINA) that the programme is being expanded to cater for youth development.
He said President Ramotar was quite au fait with the organization and its work, and he described the meeting as good for building collaboration between the work of the volunteer mission and that of the government ministries.
Over the past two days, the Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) has been utilising the Lethem hospital to conduct surgeries, including hysterectomies.
The Ministry of Health has partnered with the organisation in supplementing efforts with medication, blood, injections and other tools, while the team provided the skilled personnel. Additionally, Guyanese nurses, with theatre skills, were also mobilised to work along with the RAM team.
Last October, the team visited the Lethem hospital and conducted a number of surgeries including dentistry, orthopaedics, obstetrics and gynaecology, X- ray, general surgery, internal medicine, radiography, and ophthalmology.
Visits were also made to the Mabaruma hospital.