In Escuintla, the Boxer team has turned the Escuela Santa Isabel into a primary-care facility. Hundreds of patients have stood in line for care, some having traveled over four hours by foot. The Boxer team set up a dental clinic, an optometry clinic, a primary-care center and an educational area, all of which featured HHS officers. Including dental and optometry, the clinic is seeing approximately 600 patients a day. The most-common medical conditions include upper respiratory infections and chronic diseases. The number of prescriptions filled at the pharmacy set up by the Boxer team went from approximately 500 the first two days in Escuintla to over 1000 per day the next two days. The number of pairs of eyeglasses distributed by the optometrists has concurrently increased, from 50 to 100, while referrals of cataract patients to the Boxer's on-board surgery team have remained constant at approximately three to five per day. HHS dental professionals applied fluoride varnish to approximately 150 patients, as well as applied sealants and performed prophylaxis, restorations and extractions.
The Boxer's environmental-health team conducted 12 different assessments around Escuintla. They visited a community well, two different dumps, as well as an industrial-waste dump at the mouth of a local river.
The Boxer veterinary team returned to the same dairy farms through the period, and provided services to 238 cattle, most of which included deworming and vaccinations. They also saw some stunted calves, and were able to give Vitamin A and selenium to them. At the farms, the team provided safety and sanitation information to the farmers, as well as to animal technicians and veterinary students. The Boxer's education team taught 80 midwifes basic cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, and conducted classes on hand-washing, universal precautions and neonatal resuscitation. They also taught dental health for approximately 300 people.
