Yale University - Health & Medicine International Bulletin features Dr. David Walker

A detailed article by LuAnn Bishop appears in the March 26th edition of Health & Medicine. In the piece, Dr. David Walker's role at our Good Samaritan clinic is nicely portrayed. The account is well worth a full read. Here's an excerpt.

"During its week-long stay, the team saw 200 to 250 patients a day, helping them with "what medicine and technology we had," says Walker, who admits he keenly felt the lack of much of the basic equipment available back home. "It was just me and my stethoscope and a language barrier," he notes. "We counted on the locals who served as our translators to help be our eyes and ears."

"Walker and the other caregivers offered what treatments they could, given the supplies at hand. "But sometimes," he says, "all we could do was to listen and hand out food or diapers." Of particular concern were patients with chronic ailments, such as high blood pressure, that required special medicines unavailable at the clinic, and those who, prior to the disaster, had been awaiting surgery at hospitals now overcrowded with earthquake victims. When possible, the team members referred these individuals to one of the other medical care facilities that were beginning to be established in the area."