Community Health Initiatives
Promoting Health and Well-being in Monte Lirio
With our work in Monte Lirio, DTCare identified the need to expand our aid distribution and education programs to better address the community’s health needs and well-being. DTCare is working alongside Days for Girls, the Floating Doctors, and clinics to make critically needed supplies and support more accessible, especially for women and children in the underserved communities where we work. DTCare’s efforts to provide additional support to the people of Monte Lirio are focused on feminine hygiene and menstrual health, combining efforts with local healthcare organizations and nonprofits, and helping children in need of specialist care.
Through our partnerships with Days for Girls, the Floating Doctors, and community organizations, DTCare has provided hundreds of feminine hygiene packs with reusable pads, mobility, and disability aids, and specialist care to underprivileged men, women, and children in Monte Lirio. Together with our partners we also provide vital care for neglected and abandoned pets in Bocas del Toro. DTCare is committed to providing essential equipment and support to promote the health, well-being, and upliftment of the Monte Lirio community. The expertise and resources provided by our established partners enable DTCare to help more people in need.
DTCare Partners with Floating Doctors for Animal Care Mission in Bocas del Toro
On Tuesday, September 5, 2023, DTCare partnered with the Floating Doctors at a veterinary clinic in San Cristobal, Bocas del Toro. Together, they provided vital care to 44 pets, which included 40 dogs and four cats. Most animals had typical conditions such as fleas and ticks, malnutrition, and skin infections. However, some were severely malnourished and abused, requiring immediate hospitalization. To treat skin conditions, the team used Clorex shampoo and amoxicillin. The animals also received Endo and Ecto shots, as well as vitamins. Thirty of the animals were scheduled for sterilization as well. Participating in the Floating Doctors' mission was an eye-opening experience for DTCare, highlighting the challenges animals face due to malnourishment, parasites, and mistreatment. DTCare is proud to work with the Floating Doctors to provide essential medical care and treatment to neglected and suffering animals in the Bocas del Toro region.
Feminine Hygiene Support with Days for Girls
Days for Girls (DfG) is a woman-founded nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and promoting women’s health by providing access to menstrual products and education. The organization was founded to combat period poverty, the struggle women and girls face due to the lack of access to menstrual health education and supplies, and to empower disadvantaged women and girls around the world. In some of the underserved communities where we work, Days for Girls’ feminine hygiene packs and menstrual health education reduces the adverse health effects, suffering, and stigma women and girls face with inadequate menstrual supplies.
Days for Girls’ feminine packs equips women with the menstrual supplies and resources they need to live fuller, healthier lives. DTCare partnered with Days for Girls to address period poverty, providing over 200 women and girls living in rural, secluded areas in and around Monte Lirio with DfG Kits. Each kit is packed in a drawstring bag and includes a washable DfG pad, absorbent liners, waterproof shields, pairs of underwear, a cotton cloth, soap, and a user sheet.
The Community Clinic
DTCare’s Clinic in Monte Lirio provides the community with prosthetics and fittings, disability and mobility aids, medical equipment, breast cancer prosthetics and accessories, and basic first-aid care and supplies. We work with doctors and health facilities in the region to ensure that the clinic follows health and COVID regulations while providing critically needed medical equipment and support to those in need at no cost.
The Department of Health and local doctors conduct routine visits to DTCare’s facility to oversee our health standards and provide health care and services to patients in need that our clinician and clinic staff are not able to provide. DTCare’s clinic makes specialty, expensive equipment and care accessible to patients who cannot afford private or government health care solutions. DTCare’s small but highly dynamic clinic team helps the people of Monte Lirio with care, compassion, and integrity. The clinic team is committed to working with trusted organizations and partners to help and uplift the local community. For many, the DTCare is their last resort, their only option for receiving the care and assistance they urgently need.
Supporting Local Clinics and Health Programs
Supporting local organizations has become integral to DTCare’s operations in Panama. DTCare’s established partnerships in Panama enable us to expand our aid provision and healthcare support services to the greater Monte Lirio community. We understand the importance of respecting and preserving local culture and tradition and value the resources and guidance that our local partners provide. We take pride in working with and supporting local clinics and health programs because by working with local organizations our impact is increased and sustainable. DTCare extended its medical equipment distribution program to supply to public hospitals and the Floating Doctors, enabling and equipping our local partners to assist and aid disadvantaged groups and communities. In exchange, our patients receive additional health care and specialized support. Together, we are improving lives and instilling hope.
Specialist Care Sponsorship
Basic health care is expensive and inaccessible to many of the individuals and families we help in David and Monte Lirio. In 2021, DTCare started working with indigenous groups, providing food, clothes, and medical support to improve deteriorating living conditions. Health problems resulting from an inadequate diet, medical care, and rural living conditions such as diarrhea, stomach aches, rashes, and undernourishment were persistent in the children of the group. DTCare partnered with a nearby medical clinic, AGIS, to provide health checkups to the mothers and children of the group, to ensure that those in need of medicine or specialist care received the aid needed.
A small, special-needs girl spent most days bedridden and indoors. Her immobility prevented her from playing outside and socializing with other kids. She suffered physically from bed sores and body aches due to being confined to a bed for extended periods of time. DTCare identified the urgent need to alleviate her discomfort and suffering. Once we provided the girl’s family with a pillow designed to help with blood circulation and additional neck and upper-body support and a stroller enabling her to spend more time outdoors, we sponsored a series of physical therapy sessions that would help regulate pain and discomfort.
