Boomers Abroad

Description

When it comes to health and wellness, the citizens of Costa Rica have it good. The hospitable tropical climate, fresh and healthy foods, and the enviable living pace help to bring the country's average life expectancy to mid to late seventies. All of these factors are undergirded by a top notch healthcare system, a rarity among developing nations.

Costa Rica has its finger on the pulse of healthcare, with highly organized national and private systems and well trained professionals. Though the public system is taxed with bureaucratic red tape, and long waits, the level of care and service delivery offered by the two systems is often said to rival that of the United States and the U. K.

AMPED offers a variety of opportunities for participants to become engaged in healthcare through education, emergency service, and research options.

* Ambulance Services - Assist a team of first responders by volunteering with a public or private ambulance service. The public ambulance service assists the public by providing emergency transportation to the clinic, conducting community service projects, and conducting presentations about the dangers of drug use and to heighten AIDS awareness. Volunteers may also help teach English to EMTs so that they may offer better service and care while working in the field. Volunteering with the private ambulance service affords participants an opportunity to work with the highest quality ambulance service in Atenas. Assist EMTs in the office with various administrative functions and responding to calls for assistance.

* Dengue - Dengue is an infectious viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes in tropical regions. The dengue project is a public health project informing the public about the ways to prevent dengue and to eliminate the spread of the disease. It is a grassroots door-to-door community project that involves inspecting areas that could breed disease carrying mosquitoes and educating the public. As a volunteer, you may also spend part of your time teaching English to the Ministry of Health officials.

* Dentistry - Assist dentists and observe dental practices at a local clinic in Costa Rica. Volunteers may help sterilize and disinfect instruments and equipment, prepare and layout materials needed to treat each patient, obtain and update patients' dental records, and instruct patients concerning postoperative and general oral healthcare.

* Laboratory - Work in a private laboratory that runs general and specific specimens for the detection of diseases and infections. Assist the lab physician with analyzing samples.