Montero Medical Missions Health Fair For Veterans

Please pass on the word to your fellow veterans. See you all there this Saturday. COL (R) Jim Ireland.

Upcoming Health Fair for Veterans

Montero Medical Missions' next Health Fair For Veterans is being held this Saturday, June 14, 2014 from 9am to 1pm at Lifestyle Building at Chesapeake Regional Medical Center (800 N. Battlefield Blvd, Chesapeake, VA 23320). Please help us spread the word!
The next and last fair for the year will be on October 11, 2014.

MMM Team Delivers Relief to Victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda

MMM team in charge of collection, storage and shipping of container[s] to Philippines in its relief efforts to devastated hospitals and clinics by super typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda, through the Department of Health.

Montero Medical Missions is continuing to send 40 ft. high cube containers [see photos] to the Philippines filled with hospital equipment and medical supplies. MMM’s in-kind donors, mainly Sentara Health Systems, Kerma Medical Products, Owens & Minor, Dr. Lucy's and others have generously continued their support to our humanitarian cause. MMM is most grateful indeed to all our financial and in-kind donors and benefactors. We are now working on our 4th and 5th containers.

MMM Welcome Video

MMM friends, we have a new video that introduces the MMM concept.  Click on the link below to view, please share and we truly appreciate your continued support.
http://youtu.be/klTmtA3kg6g
MMM Welcome Video

Montero Medical Missions would like to share the year's highlights.

As 2013 draws to a close, Montero Medical Missions would like to share the year's highlights:

* Hot off the press, MMM now has its own Shopping Portal, thanks to Dubli and the efforts of our board member, Dave Hall. Keeping up with the times, it allows anyone interested in our cause to Shop, Save and Support MMM through this search engine with cashback. Not too often do you find such an arrangement, where everyone wins. I therefore invite you to visit www.dubli.com/M040F and make things happen.

* The fully loaded 40 ft. container with donated hospital equipment and supplies, bound for MMM's newly adopted hospital, Adela Serra Ty Memorial Medical Center in Tandag, Surigao del Sur, Mindanao Philippines will sail Jan. 4, 2014 from Norfolk. Col. Jim Ireland,USA[R], expert logistician and MMM VP is instrumental in this endeavor, thus fulfilling his promise to the hospital personnel when we were there last July. This will then be followed with container[s] consigned to the Secretary of Health, Dr. Enrique Ona who will make the determination as to which of the 53 destroyed hospitals/clinics from super typhoon Haiyan/ Yolanda need the most help.

* Our final MMM fundraising social last Dec. 13th which was beautifully hosted by First Colonial Inn through its Marketing Director, Stacy Kenyon, a MMM board member, went very well. We feel that these on-going fundraisers continue to accomplish our goal of expanding MMM's base of friends, volunteers and supporters. The 'Final Fling' at the Monteros' Rural Retreat on Sept. 7th, Summer Bash at the Marina Shores Yacht Club on June 27th and the MASA-MMM Golf Tournament on April 8th at the Cypress Point Country Club, rounded up the fun, friendship-maker, fundraisers for the year. MMM looks forward to 2014 with gusto !

* On Dec. 6, 2013, MMM hosted a financially admirable fundraiser to benefit our Philippines Relief Efforts, thus helping the victims from the devastation of super typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda. With community oriented Towne Bank and Chesapeake Regional Medical Center as anchor sponsors plus the outpouring of support from the Vietnamese and Indian communities on top of Filipino organizations and American friends, we raised over $ 50,000.00 and almost evenly split between American Red Cross and Montero Medical Missions.

* On Oct. 9, 2013, MMM attained a monumental recognition, when the American College of Surgeons at its 100th Annual Clinical Congress in Washington,D.C. allowed our well-received poster format presentation of the innovative MMM Health Fair for Veterans project. This quarterly event to screen and assist veterans in their healthcare needs is MMM's domestic/in-country project, to compliment our three international sustainable healthcare projects: MMM Eyesight 20/20, MMM Prosthesis and MMM Dental Care.

* Our MMM Active board has been newly reconstituted with three new members and three outgoing ones, who kindly opted to stay on MMM Advisory board. Jan Baillie, RN, Rory Fitzpatrick and Sandeep Samudre, PhD inject new blood to MMM. We owe Chance Wilson, Cyndi Smith and Earl Virts, CRNA a tremendous debt of gratitude for their invaluable service and contributions during these past 2 1/2 formative years of MMM.

* How MMM, still without a salaried employee accomplished all of the above, speaks volumes of the volunteer efforts that our MMM Active 'blue collar' board members have done. The T.E.A.M.[Together Everyone Achieves More] slogan continues to resonate to our community volunteers, many of them peerless in their dogged determination. MMM salutes them all.

* In our pipeline for missions next year:

June or July, 2014 in Joinville, Brazil; Chesapeake's sister city.

July 25 till Aug. 3, 2014 in Irosin, Sorsogon, Philippines

Aug. 1 till Aug. 10, 2014 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

* Just a Reminder: Contributions to tax-exempt MMM can be made to celebrate a life event, to honor someone's accomplishments or to memorialize a loved one. Better yet, contribute and join a medical mission trip of your choice, with MMM.

* To donate go to: www. monteromedicalmissions.org, thru pay pal.

Montero Medical Missions Adopts Mindanao Hospital

Tuesday, July 23, 2013 was a red-letter day for the province of Surigao del Sur in the island of Mindanao, Philippines. Its capital city of Tandag was the venue for the official signing of the Memorandum of Agreement documents in the adoption of the provincial hospital, Adela Serra Ty Memorial Medical Center by Montero Medical Missions. It was attended by no less than the Secretary and Undersecretary of Health, Drs. Enrique'Ike' Ona and Teodoro'Ted' Herbosa respectively. This is the first hospital adopted under the  auspices and control of the Department of Health, not the provincial government. There were 20 co-signatories, including six from Virginia: Montero Medical Missions, American Orthotic and Prosthetic Center, Beach Eye Care, Virginia Center for Eye Surgery, Community United Methodist Church, Philippine Medical Association of Southeastern Virginia.

This event was in concurrence with the three-day eyesight medical mission trip of MMM, led by our MMM Eyesight Programs Chairman, Virginia Beach-based ophthalmologist Peyton Neatrour,MD and participated by humanitarian ophthalmologists from neighboring provinces, namely: Drs. Joseph Custodio, Leonel Santos, Ed Tan, Matt Baruc and Noel Chua from Manila who is Chairman of the National Committee for Sight Preservation. 100 surgeries were performed and mainly cataract operations. There were 600 patients screened, refracted and given eyeglasses by optometrists, led by Dr. Chris Buniel, our Director of MMM Eyesight 20/20 Project. He was joined in by colleagues; Drs. Lance Buniel, Belinda Daus, Jonathan Dango and Ma.Teresa Cordovez.The Neatrour children joined by their church youth pastor Steve Watson, screened 400 patients for diabetes as they did two years ago with support from Eastern Virginia Medical School Strelitz Diabetes Center. The province responded to this dedicated family with a laudable Provincial Board Resolution, citing its own adoption of the Neatrour family: Peyton, Leslie, Kristin, Katie and Greg by the grateful people of Surigao del Sur.

Our second sustainable healthcare project, the MMM Prosthesis, founded and led by Mike Smith, CPO and owner of American Orthotic and Prosthetic Center, received a most pleasant surprise. We were told that it will have a 3000 sq.ft. space in the planned new administrative building where the MMM Eyesight 20/20 Center will also be located. Dr. Ona did the honors at the groundbreaking ceremony. This complements the newly built hospital. To top it all, we found a willing William Aguilar, President of 'Persons With Disabilities' to chair this project in the province. Rehabilitation physician, Mayla Tee,MD and technician Winnie Belosillo, both from Manila representing Physicians for Peace Philippines, joined Mike for a day in screening 30 amputees for eventual prosthesis fitting. After meeting with four government employed dentists, we laid the groundwork for our MMM Dental Care project and to be locally chaired by Dr. Earl Cloyd Mira. This involves a curriculum to train volunteer dental oral educators, preparatory to our plan to eventually graduate dental assistants. This third MMM healthcare project is chaired by Vicki Brett, Director of Dental Assisting Program at ECPI University in Va, Beach. Our consultant is Warren Sachs, DDS, a veteran missioner.

We were graciously hosted by the province of Surigao del Sur thru the excellent leadership of Gov. Johnny and civic leader Lelis Pimentel and by Tandag City thru Mayor Roxanne and former mayor Ayec Pimentel.

Back in States, we are now busy collecting usable and functional equipment and machines to send by year's end, via a 40 ft. container to MMM's newly adopted hospital which practically needs everything, according to our expert logistician, Jim Ireland and MMM benefactors, Jean and Sharon. MMM appreciates any cash donation thru pay pal or in-kind donation when applicable. We have a tax-exempt 501[c][3] status.

Philippine Medical Mission, July 18-29, 2013 and MMM Adoption of the Provincial Hospital in Tandag, Surigao del Sur, Mindanao, Philippines

Philippine Medical Mission, July 18-29, 2013 and MMM Adoption of the Provincial Hospital in Tandag, Surigao del Sur, Mindanao, Philippines:

Two years to the month after its historic medical mission trip to Tandag in July, 2011, the entire humanitarian/philanthropist Neatrour family will be back to Tandag to continue its support and nurture the Montero Medical Missions Eyesight 20/20 project it started. Back then, there were six in-country ophthalmologists who joined Dr. Peyton Neatrour in operating 140 patients, mostly cataract, in 21/2 days and distributed several hundreds of eyeglasses after thorough screening by optometrists.Through his determined efforts, Alcon, USA donated a phaco machine to the hospital. The Eyesight project, under the able directorship of optometrist Dr. Chris Buniel, has become a public-private partnership endeavor to strengthen its sustainability. This is our MMM flagship project, ready to be replicated in other countries.

This July, MMM is fortunate to have Mike Smith,CPO, owner of American Orthotic and Prosthetic Center, based in Chesapeake, to be in our team. He will start an MMM Prosthetic project in Tandag with plans to serve eastern Mindanao. We will do this in partnership with Physicians for Peace Philippines' Walking Free project , which he helped start.

What makes this trip truly remarkable is the planned signing of the documents on MMM Adoption of the Provincial Hospital--Adela Sierra Ty Memorial Medical Center, the second such adoption in the nation, but the first adopted hospital under the control of the Dept. of Health in Manila. We envision three sustainable healthcare projects to be based at ASTMMC, which will include Eyesight, Prosthesis and Dental Care. All three will serve as our MMM model to be replicated in other countries. We also have a logistician in our team, Col.[ret] Jim Ireland to assess all the needs of the hospital and to plan the donation process. And as promised to our benefactors, we heartily welcome the inclusion of Jean and her daughter Sharon to our team. There is always room for philanthropists to explore and to further humanitarianism. The team leaves Norfolk July 18 and return July 29, 2013.

MMM Health Fair for Veterans helps local veterans.

On October 27, 2012, Montero Medical Missions had its inaugural Health Fair for Veterans at the Lifestyle Center of the Chesapeake Regional Medical Center (CRMC).   Over 90 volunteers participated in the event, eager to give back to the veterans in their community. 

Fifty-five veterans were screened by healthcare professionals in the following areas of the veteran's choice: 

            1.  general medicine

            2.  dental care

            3.  mental health

            4.  eye sight

            5.  hearing

            6.  dermatology

            7.  women's health

            8.  chiropractic

            9.  prosthesis / orthosis

            10. social work

Among the many physicians that volunteered their time to screen the veterans were MMM Vice President G. Peyton Neatrour, MD and MMM advisory board member Stephanie Marioneaux, MD, both ophthalmologists.  The Lions mobile van was also at the event for screenings.

Each veteran was assigned a volunteer to escort them through the health fair and provide the V.I.P. treatment that the veterans deserve.  The veterans were given a thank you "goody bag".  Additionally, continental breakfast from Panera and lunch from ECPI University was provided for the 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM event.

The inaugural event included a short ceremony conducted by COL (R) James W. Ireland, Director of the Health Fair for Veterans.   MMM Founder and President, Juan Montero II, MD also spoke along with Bob Oman, Chairman of the CRMC Hospital Authority and Eric Endries, Director of the Virginia Wounded Warrior Program for Hampton Roads.  

The feedback we received from veterans and volunteers was extremely positive.  The veterans were very appreciative to MMM and the volunteers were pleased to assist the veterans.  

After the veterans were screened at all the areas of their choice, those that required medical treatment were referred to physicians and other healthcare providers in the region.  

There is not enough room to print all of the findings of the health fair, but we'd like to share some of the vision screening results.    Dr. Neatrour screened 25 people and dispensed 8 pairs of glasses to appreciative veterans.   His vision screening resulted in identifying the following:   4 Cataracts, 1 Glaucoma, 4 Glaucoma suspect, 2 Retina/Macular Degeneration, 2 Pseudophakia, 8 Presbyopia, 4 Myopia, and 8 Hyperopia.

Many individuals and organizations, including Director Becky Washburn and the Chesapeake Medical Reserve Corps, volunteered their time and/or services and MMM is thankful for their support.   If you are interested in volunteering for future health fairs, please let us know.  Businesses and companies looking to employ veterans are welcome.  We are also looking for donations of items for future thank you "goody bags" for the veterans.  

Future Health Fairs for Veterans will be at the Lifestyle Center at Chesapeake Regional Medical Center on the following dates:

            January 12, 2013         9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

            April 27, 2013              9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

            July 13, 2013               9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

            October 12, 2013        9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Montero Medical Missions' Memorable Magical Month

The month of October, 2012 will be remembered as ultimate reflection of the Montero Medical Missions' MMM initials. It stands for a Memorable Magical Month. Here are three reasons why:

On October 8, 2012, we received our IRS 501[c][3] tax-exempt status--quite an achievement for a 15-month old, predominantly international humanitarian organization. We have already been to three countries: Philippines, Ghana, Peru and created MMM EyeSight 20/20 project in Surigao del Sur, Mindanao, Philippines.

On October 19, 2012, we had a very successful Montero Medical Missions Reception with H.E. Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. Quite a treat at that level for a start-up organization.

On October 27, 2012, the MMM Health Fair for Veterans finally had its inaugural event at the Lifestyle Center of the Chesapeake Regional Medical Center. It was a resounding success in all aspects. This domestic on-going, voluntary revolutionary project to assist our veterans in their healthcare needs will resume in January, 2013 and probably monthly thereafter.

With the holidays just around the corner, MMM looks forward to a Christmas fundraiser to be hosted by Earl and Pau Virts at their gorgeous Helping Your Loved Ones assisted living facility in Chesapeake. What a way to cap an event-studded year.

The Neatrour Family recounts their eyesight mission to Ghana: EyeBlog 20/20

EyeBlog 20/20
Eye Opening Ghana 2012
Setting foot in Africa in June to help our Ghanaian brothers and sisters proved to be an impressionable experience that was both remarkably rewarding and profoundly educational. The Neatrour family (all 5) and Andrew (one of Kristin’s fellow medical school students), with the help of Unite for Sight (UFS) and Montero Medical Missions, teamed up to deliver vision to those needing provisions as simple as reading glasses or eye drops to providing improved sight through cataract or pterygium surgery. In 320lbs of our luggage, we hauled surgical supplies, including 100 IOLs (intraocular lens implants), surgical blades, and viscoelastic solution (used inside the eye in cataract surgery), as well as five live corneas for transplantation and instruments that help discern IOL power and diagnose glaucoma.

Preparation was key as we all worked for months to become Global Impact Fellows with Unite for Sight, an impressive 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. After completing 70 plus educational modules each, we became proficient in topics including Cultural Competency, Ethics and Professionalism, Global Health, Community Eye Health, Social Entrepreneurship, Ghana Volunteer Training, and Travel Abroad Training. Generous donations from family, friends, co-workers, Community United Methodist Church members, Montero Medical Missions, and Medical Supply Rescue & Recycle helped us to meet our $10,000 goal to provide cataract surgery for 200 Ghanaians and glasses for 3,600 patients in need. Alcon, Allergan, and Bausch & Lomb were generous in donating eye drops and surgical supplies. Icare USA donated a tonometer for measuring IOPs (intraocular pressures) for glaucoma detection. Vision Share, in partnership with the Lions Medical Eye Bank and Research Center of Eastern Virginia, donated five live corneas (one of which was implanted while I was in Ghana). Accutome partnered with the Neatrour Family Foundation to donate an A-Scan ultrasound device designed to measure the correct IOL power to use in surgery. Additionally, 3600 pairs of reading glasses (250 lbs) were either donated or purchased, cleaned, sorted, and delivered to the partner optometrists in Ghana to be distributed to poverty stricken Ghanaians in the villages. All of these supplies fit in six large black canvas backpacks (50 lbs each)!

Day 1 and 2 took Leslie, Katie, and Greg on an overnight outreach mission with a local optometrist, ophthalmic nurse, and fellow volunteers to the Eastern Region villages of Akoase and Ayirebi where they screened 100-150 patients each day for cataracts, refractive errors, glaucoma, and retina conditions. They served as visual acuity testers and glasses/eye drop dispensers as the optometrists completed the visual exams and screened for eye surgery. The driver Bismarck helped with translation from the native “Twi” to English. The roads of red dirt and puddles (from the rainy season) led to the perfect storm when the Unite for Sight van stalled out in the middle of nowhere at night.You can just imagine Leslie and Katie standing outside of the security of the van in the dark of night on a remote dirt road in Africa surrounded by sounds of wildlife and abuzz with mosquitoes (potentially carrying malaria). Greg and four other men pushed the gas-flooded van out of the water while the women supervised. Thankfully, the men were able to start the van, which approached 200,000 miles on its odometer. That night was spent in the safe shelter of mosquito net tents on beds inside an 80 plus degree motel room.

While half the team traveled, the other half (Kristin, Andrew and I) joined Dr. Baah of the Save the Nation’s Sight Clinic on that first day. We delivered the Accutome A-scan and trained the staff on its use. The ultrasound is important in measuring the length of the eye to choose the correct IOL power to see distance in one eye and near in the other. It was put to use in the patients that had cataract surgery that afternoon where I performed my 1st SICS (small incision cataract surgery). This manual technique dominates in the developing world due to the quick recovery in vision and low cost. The incision is large enough to deliver the nucleus out of the eye, but still self-healing so no sutures are needed. This was a technique I had never learned to do until now – in my 25 years of performing cataract surgery! Day 2 took us to Dr. Clarke’s Crystal Eye Clinic where Kristin and Andrew began their diabetes study on 47 cataract patients, which continued over the next four days. I performed more SICS cataract procedures and Dr. Clarke, a corneal transplant to a patient who had a corneal scar from a severe infection. I saw something rare that day: a Ghanaian with complete 3rd nerve palsy in one eye – a fully drooping eyelid, turned-out eye with limited movement, and a dilated pupil. This patient was referred to the University Hospital for imaging to decipher causes (possibly caused by a brain tumor).

Day 3 united our entire team as we traveled on an outreach in the Volta Region to the small village of Juapong where our team saw 104 patients. The visual acuity team hung the eye charts on the side of the van while the patients sat under a tree for protection from the hot sun and the occasional rain. The rest of the team found refuge in a small building where I helped to conduct a study with the iCare tonometer – a piece of equipment that detects glaucoma by bouncing a small plastic and gold rod off the cornea without the need for anesthetic drops. Ernest, our optometrist, and I found it accurate and he accepted it as his new preferred way to measure intraocular pressure. I named him the “iCare master“ and we shared laughs! We saw seven patients needing cataract surgery, one with ectropion with the lower lids hanging out, a droopy eyelid in a 1 ½ – year old, a corneal scar from birth in a 6-month old, bilateral cataracts in a 1-month old, and 20 patients with glaucoma (two of which were end-stage with only hand motion vision). Eye drops (ranging from meds for glaucoma to those treating infection) and reading glasses were dispensed (the cost of which were only the equivalent of US $.50 – $2 each to the needy patient). Patients needing a consultation in the clinic or requiring surgery were given a date and the community coordination team arranged patient transportation.

Day 4 took the entire team to the Crystal Eye Clinic to observe as Dr. Clarke and I performed more cataract and pterygium surgery. The teamwork of Dr. Clarke’s staff in the clinic and operating room was noteworthy and very efficient. Some days Dr Clarke works until 9 or 10pm and performs surgery on 50 plus eyes! Every volunteer was given the opportunity to observe the surgery up close. Greg enjoyed passing the tape to Dr. Clarke to patch the operated eye. Partnering with UFS has allowed Dr. Clarke to grow his cataract surgery volume 13 fold over the past five years!

Day 5 took the outreach half of our team to a Christian school to educate and screen students ranging in age from 3 yrs old to 18 yrs old. The 600 or so students all wore uniforms, were remarkably behaved, and greatly appreciated our presence. The team offered an educational 45 minute talk, screened ~100 students (identified at risk by teachers), and distributed 100 coloring books and crayons to children ranging in age from pre-school to 1st grade. The coloring books, which focused on health-related topics in English, were generously donated by one of Kristin’s contacts. The children enjoyed performing dances and singing songs for the volunteers. That day Kristin and Andrew completed their diabetes study at the Crystal Eye Clinic, and I ran Dr. Baah’s Save the Nations Sight Clinic since Dr. Baah scooted to the airport to pick up a visiting doctor. Eye conditions seen that day included dry eyes, refractive errors, and glaucoma (newly diagnosed in a 28 year old with normal IOPs but with severe visual field loss). The next touching story I experienced was a one-eyed cataract patient (the other eye was blind with only light perception vision after a corneal transplant in Egypt in the 1970’s) who was carried on his son’s back up to the 2nd floor theater (operating room) and then back down because of his difficulty in walking. This gentleman will now be able to care for himself and not be so dependent on others because of the cataract surgery performed that day on his one remaining functional eye.

The friendships made with our gracious hosts- Dr. Clarke, Dr. Baah, Jerome, Ernest, John, Bismarck, and Margaret – and fellow volunteers (15 or more from the East Coast to the West Coast of the US who stayed at the Telecentre Bed & Breakfast) will last a lifetime! We return with a renewed enthusiasm, dedication, and passion to help our fellow man throughout the world. I encourage you to join our team to help the world see!

"Six Ghanians Soon To Have Eyesight Restored"

Our Montero Medical Missions' team of ophthalmologist, Dr. Peyton Neatrour and his humanitarian family of five will be bringing along with them half a dozen corneas in their trip to Ghana, June 22 till 29, 2012. MMM will be working in partnership with Ghana Unite for Sight organization. This is our first international project partnership, other than in the Philippines where we partner with Physicians for Peace Philippines.

Through the generousity of the Lions Medical EyeBank [Norfolk] and the leadership of its CEO, David Korroch, the six corneas will be cold-packaged in styrofoam the morning of the team's departure and hopefully then transplanted within the following couple of weeks. Mr. Korroch together with the late Mr. Moon Kosjer and Mr. Ernie Hardee was instrumental in the founding of the first Lions Medical EyeBank of Southeast Asia, located in Cebu City, Philippines. He is the current Chairman-elect of the Eye Bank Association of America and sits in our MMM Advisory Board.

Cataract Surgical & Eye Care Outreach in the Philippines

Dr. Chris Buniel, Director of Montero Medical Missions EyeSight Program in the Philippines, continues his excellent leadership in promoting eyecare as shown in these photos. He also Chairs the consortium of Provincial Gov't., NGOs, non-profit organizations, foundations, and businesses to promote eyecare for the entire 600,000 population of the province of Surigao del Sur, where the MMM EyeSight Program is headquartered. Click Here to review images from the mission.

"Health Fair for Veterans" Project.

It has been exhilarating during these past few weeks to make contacts, meet new friends and speak before different veterans' groups, non-profit and professional organizations in promoting our planned monthly "Health Fair for Veterans" project, come late spring/early summer. This is so powerful a cause that everyone I talked to about it, generally ends up volunteering.

Here is the current list of entities that are in support/or expressed interest:

1. Montero Medical Missions

2. Chesapeake Care Free Clinic

3. Virginia Veterans Services

4. Virginia Dept. of Health

5. Virginia Dept. of Health Professions

6. Virginia Wounded Warrior Program

7. Beach Eye Care

8. American Orthotic & Prosthetic Center

9. Chesapeake Regional Medical Center Medical Staff and Nurses

10. Chesapeake Medical Society and its Alliance [Auxiliary]

11. Philippine Medical Assoc.of SeVa and its Auxiliary

12. Philippine Nurses Assoc. of Virginia

13. Filipino-American Veterans of Hampton Roads

14. We Care Medical Transport

15. All Heart Home Health Care

16. EVMS Medical Students

17. Aklan Ati-Atihan USA, Inc.

18. LTD Hospitality Group

19. ECPI-Military Division

20. Hampton Roads Council of Veterans Organizations

21. Friends Of The Elderly[F.O.T.E.] Foundation

22. Tidewater Community College

23. Asian Association of Hampton Roads

24. Towne Bank

26. World Affairs Council

27. Bayview Physicians

28. Disabled American Veterans

29. Chesapeake Sheriff's Department

30. Wounded Wear

31. Filipino-American Community Action Group

32. Wolcott Rivers Gates Attorneys at Law

33. ODU Center of Global Health

34. SeVa Community Foundation

35. Chesapeake Alliance

36. Seriously Weight Loss

37. CHEAR[Coalition for Hearing Education And Research]

38. WHRO

39. Angel Care

40. Medical Direct

41. RRMM Design Build, LLC

42. Medical and Surgical Eye Specialists

43. VFW, Chesapeake Post 2894
44. Va. Beach Development Group
45. MacArthur Center Mall

Medical Assistance to Veterans Now Being Worked Out

The task force of Chesapeake Care Free Clinic and Montero Medical Missions met with Col.[ret] Eric Endries, Director of Hampton Roads Wounded Warrior Program of the Veterans Services last Jan.9th at the clinic. After agreeing on the feasibility issue, the following topics were discussed: eligibility and priority of those to be seen; recruitment of volunteer medical/paramedical professionals and lay persons; logistics involved and search for a paid Coordinator of this monthly[Saturday] Health Fair for sustainability.

It was agreed that Montero Medical Missions is in charge of the Health Fair with the clinic facilities serving as the venue.There will be eight medical stations that the veterans can avail of after being triaged:

1. General Medicine--staffed by Family medicine/Internists volunteers.
2. Dental--Dentists,Hygienists, Assistants
3. Mental Health--Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Therapists
4.EyeSight--Ophthalmologists, Optometrists, Opticians; Lions Clubs
5. Hearing--Otolaryngologists, Audiologists; Sertoma Clubs
6. Amputees-- Prosthetists, Orthotists, Physical Therapists
7. Female Veterans--OB/Gynecologists
8. Social Work/Referral station

Business companies looking to employ veterans are welcome and will have their own station. 

MMM Officially Launched

On Friday, December 2, 2011 Montero Medical Missions was officially announced by its Founder and President, Dr. Juan M. Montero II before an enthusiastic crowd at Towne Hall-Towne Bank reception in Chesapeake, Virginia. Bulgaria was the featured country, being the host of its flagship MMM EyeSight Program medical mission in spring, 2012. Honduras, Peru, Ghana, Vietnam, Philippines, Jamaica are in the pipeline, once target fundings are realized.

The following board members highlighted the evening's event with their respective presentations: Galia Kouzmanova on the country of Bulgaria; Dr. Peyton Neatrour on his family's poignant, life-changing experience of last July's medical mission in the Philippines and Chance Wilson on his overall event management as Chairman of Marketing and Development Committee.

Veterans to Get Healthcare Boost

After receiving a letter from State Health Commissioner Dr. Karen Remley, cosigned by highly-decorated Vietnam veteran Paul Galanti during Veterans Week, Dr. Juan Montero saw an opening to help veterans in their health needs.

Virginia is in absolute need of better healthcare for veterans. Dr. Remley further explains this need: “Virginia is home to hundreds of thousands of veterans, many of whom served multiple deployments in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and may become patients of yours. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), there are more than 800,000 veterans in the state. That means 1 in 8 Virginians is a veteran. Additionally, over the next six months, 1,200-2,000 servicemen and women in the Virginia National Guard will be returning home, many from the front lines of combat.”

Montero says that the Health Fair concept is the most doable, considering the logistics involved. He foresees a spring start.

Get started and join us on our next mission!

Become a part of the mission! Montero Medical Missions (MMM) is an excellent way to give back and provide help to those under priveliged individuals in need around the world. MMM is already making plans to conduct medical missions in Bulgaria, Peru, Africa and Jamaica. Through MMM you can be a part of that mission either through your works or donations, be a part of the movement for change.

To learn more about the medical missions please send an email to monteromedical@gmail.com and a representative will contact you with more information.

From Zero to 20/20 - Cataract Mission to the Philippines (July 2011)

The Physicians for Peace mission to Tandag, the capital of Surigao del Sur on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines, was my first international surgical experience.  The entire Neatrour family travelled with Dr. Juan Montero, a well-known local general and thoracic surgeon, to his home province half-way around the globe.  After 22 hours of flying to land in Manila, we spent the next ten days 12 hours ahead of Hampton Roads.

In Manila, we visited Paradise Heights/Smokey Mountain Community and Gawad Kalinga which were fairly new communities built to replace those living on the dump and in the slums.  In these communities where 280 days of sweat equity provides the resident’s living accommodations, Physicians for Peace Seeing Clearly has been a contributing supporter by providing an eyeglasses clinic at each site.  The children were adorable and very appreciative of the photo ops.  Products made from recycled materials, such as juice box tote bags and magazine paper jewelry, were sold to raise funds for the community.

Shortly thereafter, ten Americans were off to Mindanao with nine additional bags of surgical supplies and instruments for the mission.  After 1 1/2 hours by plane and 4 hours by bus (through rice paddies and banana trees), we arrived in Tandag, a city of 60,000 people.  Many lived in wood shacks on stilts over water and were transported by “petty cabs”, which were no more than motorcycles attached to a cab with one wheel that could hold up to 8 people (illegal by US standards, of course).  We quickly realized these people were among the poorest of the poor; they lived off the land on rice and pigs or chickens grown in their backyard.  We Americans were treated like royalty, from the provincial governor on down to the hospital staff.  In many ways we felt “godly”, parting the waters to serve and administer good will.  Mothers brought their children to us in search of a cure – like the 9 year old girl blinded by congenital glaucoma who sang courageously for us at the welcoming dinner.  Sadly, this 9 year old had a 4 year old brother with the same condition. I had to let this mom know that it’s too late to regain sight for her children; we sought help from the governor to have her transported to a major city like Manila to receive what help they could from a glaucoma specialist.  There are NO ophthalmologists in the entire province of 500,000 people in Surigao del Sur! (Virginia Beach, with a similar population, has at least 30 ophthalmologists.)  We heard many more similar stories and will share some of those on whom we made an immediate impact.

Opening day of our mission was blessed during Catholic Mass, heralded by a motorcade through the town and many speeches by Governor Pimental, congressmen, town mayors, Dr. Montero, and other prominent sponsors.  In total, the Physicians for Peace mission brought 9 ophthalmologists (8 in-country ophthalmologists), 4 optometrists, 4 sponsors, 13+ partners, and many support staff members together to ultimately serve those who could make it to the Adela Serra Ty Memorial Medical Center for 2 ½ days of cataract surgery.  Two ORs were used, one for cataract surgery and the other for surgeries including squint (eye muscle) and pterygium (a fibrovascular growth on to the cornea from sun and wind exposure).  Three to four cataract surgeons were at work simultaneously in one OR! 

Mission challenges surfaced before we left when I realized how many additional suitcases were needed to send over the surgical supplies necessary for my planned 48 cataract surgeries by phacoemulsification.  Despite sending the phaco machine to the Philippines early, it arrived on the evening of the second surgery day, having been help up in customs.  We were told upfront to be patient, to expect the unexpected, and to be even more patient.  So, with supplies for 48 cataract surgeries, I was only able to perform 9 with only one day left on my medical license to practice in the Philippines.  Another huge hurdle for me was the realization of the meaning of the word “cataracts” in the Philippines.  The majority of the patients seen for cataract removal could only see “count fingers” or “light perception only”.  The cataracts were so dense that they were difficult to remove by phaco.  Hence, the reason why the majority of the cataract surgery here is done by the old method - Extracapsular Cataract Extraction - the method I (and the majority of others in the US) abandoned after medical school.  I wondered how these patients arrived here, without broken limbs, from being nearly blinded by cataracts.

Without the phaco machine, I performed A-scan (ultrasound) biometry to measure the length of the eye in 100ths of a mm.  (This is important in choosing the IOL power and was the first time this technology was used in a Seeing Clearly eye mission!)  We were successfully able to transport this new piece of equipment and were thrilled to be able to donate it for future mission work.  I trained a tech as well as our lead local optometrist from the Physicians for Peace Seeing Clearly program, Dr Chris Buniel.

Finally, the phaco machine arrived, having cleared the custom’s confusion and the challenges of flying an overweight-limit crate.  We unpacked it carefully and then I joined to do my share of the last day’s cataract surgery load.  And, I was privileged to be assisted in cataract surgery by two medical students, Hakan (2^nd yr student at the University of Virginia Medical School) and Kristin (my oldest daughter and 2^nd yr student at Eastern Virginia Medical School). My patients ranged in age from 22-80+ and had familiar names from Jocelyn to the last name of my last patient…Montero!   The limited quality of the operating microscopes available and the dense cataracts were the biggest challenges.  Some of the in-country ophthalmologists regularly use the phaco machine and will be able to continue to use this technology here on future missions.  Knowing these patients only had surgery on one eye, we gladly left supplies and equipment for future cataract surgeries.

Post-op checks each morning revealed smiling and happy patients as their patches and shields were removed and they could start to see what they had been missing for the first time in a very long time.  Pen light exams were performed as they all sat lined up in rows.  (I forgot to bring a pen light, so without an examining room or a slit lamp, I had to use a flashlight!) Eye drops (courtesy of Congressman Pichay’s pharmaceutical company) and protective sunglasses (courtesy of Beach Eye Care and the Neatrour family) were distributed.  Over the 2 ½ days of surgery, we performed 113 cataract, 20 pterygium, and 8 squint operations.  Incredible smiles and that gratifying feeling of mission accomplished were shared and capped off by the memory of my 22 year old patient waving to me as she rode off in a petty cab!

While I was busy attending to the cataract patients, my wife Leslie, two daughters Kristin and Katie, son Greg, and medical student Hakan were busy screening 250 patients for diabetes.  Kristin and Hakan, with the help of donations from Eastern Virginia Medical School, organized and directed the diabetic screenings.  From taking measurements on height, weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, and blood glucose to asking pertinent questions and using translators to counsel, they were able to identify some pretty serious health risks.  A hospital cardiologist summoned his resident physicians to help with prescription writing and counseling.  It was an amazing sight to see and the patients were drawn from those waiting to receive cataract surgery or eyeglasses.  Patient #5 had a remarkable story.  She was a 61 yrs old, 125 lbs small-framed woman who was encouraged by her husband to attend the free diabetic clinic   Her blood sugar registered high, twice, which Kristin identified as over 600!  Patient #5 answered “yes” to many of the questions on the diabetic survey, classifying her as a high risk diabetic.  The cardiologist sent her to the ER.  They found her 2 days later, wandering in the hospital courtyard, with her son holding up her IV bag.  She had been admitted to the hospital and was taking insulin.  Her blood glucose level was now 121 (normal range)!  Hopefully, she will be able to remain on insulin to control her diabetes.

Meanwhile, other members of the mission team worked diligently.  Dr. Montero, his son Dr. Paul Montero, and Paul’s wife Charlotte (ICU RN), performed 19 minor surgeries, removing lumps and bumps from patients waiting for eye services.  The in-country optometrists prescribed 231 eyeglasses/reading glasses and 116 lab-processed prescription eyeglasses.  We all did our part to contribute to a very successful mission.

Upon our return to Manila, Kristin, Hakan, and I lectured to physicians, resident physicians, faculty members, and medical students at the East Ramon Medical University on “The Dangers of Diabetes and Diabetic Retinopathy”, “Advanced Technology IOLs in the US Today” and “Beach Eye Care – A Contemporary American Eye Care Practice”.

As you can tell, we had an incredible experience, receiving much more than we could ever give to the people of the Philippines.  The program coverage for Vision 2020 Surigao del Sur (a program with grass roots in the World Health Organization’s Vision 2020 initiative) encompassed 17 municipalities and 2 cities.  Special thanks go to Dr. Juan Montero for his connections that made this trip an amazing experience for all those touched.  Physicians for Peace, Beach Eye Care, and our many spiritual and financial supporters are equally acknowledged with appreciation as well. 

We look forward to returning!   We now know better what to expect and what to bring the next time around.  I am working on a team to recruit a full-time ophthalmologist to the Tandag hospital to use the donated equipment.

Our vision is their vision…to see and enjoy to better serve the world!

G. Peyton Neatrour, MD