Highlights of September 24 Meeting

President Dan Coons called the meeting to order reminding those present of this year's Rotary theme - "Rotary Opens Opportunities."  He also repeated the Rotary Vision Statement.  Greg Okonowski was prepared with a thought for the day.  The first thing he said, he gave credit to his wife, "It's okay to be a glow stick.  Sometimes we have to break before we can shine.  He also remembered and shared our late member Al Mabry's favorite song - This Little Light of Mine, adding that Carolyn Jones was our light.

 

Past President Jim is enrolled in Rotary Leadership Academy and is currently taking a module about the Rotary Brand.  He shared a video which unfortunately was difficult for some in attendance to hear.  CLICK HERE to view it.  In five minutes it explains how the wheel - the Rotary Brand of Excellence - should and should not be used in our publications, websites, etc.  Jim also pointed out that the Rotary logo is only part of our brand.  Our vision statement defines who we are and when we buy into it, we begin to share a voice - a voice that is smart, compassionate, persevering, and inspiring.  Mesa West has many leaders in our membership - some in office and others who are not - but these descriptive words could be used to describe all of them.   That voice is also part of our brand.  The epiphany that Jim wanted to share was that this new knowledge and how it was all put together created a Rotary moment for him.  When you put it all together - the voice, the image, the vision - it's who we are!

 

Presidential Humor - Dan shared a story that a comedian shared some time back when it seemed like a new Starbucks would appear 

 

 

In introducing the program, Ray Smith listed many club members who have travelled to Guaymas Mexico over the years to help with the "Help me to Hear" mission:  Bryan and Donna Goetzenberger, Don LaBarge, Lucinda General, Chris and Mike Krueger, Polly and Allan Cady, Pam Cohen, Chuck Flint, Jim Schmidt, Geoff White, Wendell Jones, Bob Jensen, Erica Williams, and Wendell Jones.

 

Erica Williams was brought into the program a few years ago as a backup to the leadership of Bob Jensen with the hope that she would one day step into his shoes.   In her professional position at ASU she has access to students who are motivated and willing to participate in the mission.  Bob gave Ray Smith credit for being the logistical organization expert for the mission each year, and thanked both he and Wendell, saying Wendell was the man who got them through customs.

 

Erica began her presentation by introducing herself.  She is a clinical Associate Professor in the College of Health Solutions at ASU, and in addition is a clinical audiologist.  Erica is an active member of Mesa West Rotary, but her schedule conflicts with our meeting time, so we rarely get to see her.  CLICK HERE to see the slides Erica used during her presentation.

 

To illustrate the importance of hearing, Erica asked everyone attending the Zoom meeting to cut their volume in half and try to hear what she was saying.  She did this to illustrate in a real way how left out those who live with hearing loss feel.  It can lead to frustration, embarrassment and social isolation.  In children hearing is essential for proper speech and language development.  Without being able to hear sounds, it is much more difficult to learn how to make them.

 

Erica shared some information about the Guaymas itself. It is located in the state of Sonora, Mexico.  Its economy is centered around the fishing industry, other industrial ports and agriculture.  It is closely neighbored by San Carlos.  The nearest large cities are Hermasillo 130 KM to the north and Obregon 130 KM to the southeast.

 

In the Guaymas community 24% live on less than $2.00 US/day.  Government healthcare is available for those who are employed or have private healthcare.  For those who do have coverage, using services is often prohibitive as services are concentrated in major metropolitan areas and involve a great deal of travel.

 

In Guaymas/San Carlos areas, there are currently no audiologists/hearing aid dispensers/Otololaryngologists.  Audiology services are often provided by otolaryngologists who receive specialized training.  They have been there occasionally over time, but have not been there consistently for a number of years.

 

In 1992 an exploratory trip comprised of multiple medical professionals from varying disciplines.  After many discussions, there was commitment from both Guaymas and Arizona healthcare professionals/educators to move forward with a mission centered around hearing.  A pilot program was supported by the Mesa Baseline Rotary Club and the Guaymas Rotary Club. The first group of four audiologist and an ENT flew down in 1993.  The need was great, so additional volunteers were added each year.  A limiting factor was the number of hearing aids available, as the program was dependent on hearing aid donations at that point in time.

 

As in running any humanitarian program there were several key factors that needed to be in place.

The trip historically has taken place in October or November of each year.  They have moved toward early November to avoid the tropical storm season as well as dios de los muertos festivals.  Volunteers have included audiologists, audiology students, ENT's, other medical assistants or students who facilitate as translators, and Rotarians who serve as translators or runners.

 

Over the years over 5500 individuals have been seen ranging in age from six months to 108 years.  In 2019, 40 volunteers handled 400 patients, fit 287 hearing aids and made 286 earmolds.  13 patients were given hearing aids but the team ran out of earmold material.  They planned to go back in the spring to finish the fittings for those patients but COVID-19 hit.   They had 80 hearing aids left in inventory at the school.  They were informed the school had been broken into, but the aids had been hidden in a locked area and it didn't appear any of the equipment or inventory were taken.  

 

In the future, they will limit the number of patients to be seen so volunteers don't experience burnout and patients who attend the clinic can be fully serviced.  

 

The clinic is held in a local school for the hearing impaired.  Patients will begin triage after which it will be determined if they go to ENT, audio, or hearing aids.  ENT provides non-surgical services including infection control cerumen management.  They have antibiotic and allergic medicine that are either purchased in Mexico or taken down with the team.  They also will complete PE tube placement. 

 

There are two sound booths that are used for audio testing one which has special equipment for testing children.  Patients with multiple type s of hearing are treated and they have a counseling station staffed with bilingual audiologists/audiology students to explain results an future directions or to orient patients to the hearing aids.

 

There are many challenges.  They see patients who have lost or broken their hearing aid.  There is a high amount of cerumen/foreign bodies and cerumen impaction.  One short-term goal is developing counseling videos or pictorial counseling materials in Spanish for care, maintenance and troubleshooting, noise exposure, and cerumen management.  Everyone comes in with phones, but literacy levels are sometimes limited making utilization of the printed handouts they are given difficult.  A You-tube video would be ideal.

 

There is not a clear structure for continuity of care.  Follow-up appointments that require travel to a larger community are prohibitive.

 

Since the team is only there two days a year, the program would benefit from increased services.  This is being actively addressed.  They are working with a group from Los Alamos, NW of Guaymas, but also in the state of Sonora, they are beginning to provide services on a quarterly basis.  A very well qualified audiometric technician is training local volunteers to conduct hearing screenings.  Future plans include hearing aid repair/replacement, providing batteries, replacing earmolds, and community education.   These efforts should allow for services to be provided on a more timely basis. in addition to reducing the load on the yearly clinic.  At this point it is being paid for by private donations but a Rotary International Grant is being pursued to ensure sustainability of the program.

 

These challenges are made apparent by the COVID-19 pandemic.  Due to border closures and health and safety concerns for our volunteers there will not be a trip this fall.  It is optimistic to think there could be a small contingent this spring dependent on a vaccine.  At this point, not even their audiometric tech will be able to provide any sort of services.  They look forward to the day they will be able to return and hope they can count on the continued support of the club.