One of the ways Tucker Sharp of MO gives back is through his work with Global Brigades. Global Brigades offers week-long Medical Brigades to several places in Central America, including Honduras. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the life expectancy of the average person born and living in Honduras is 65. Fifteen percent of the people who live in Honduras don’t have access to clean water, and Honduras has been ranked as the third most affected country by climate change.
Unfortunately, Honduras is classified as a heavily indebted poor country. Nearly 60 percent of households in Honduras live in poverty. Because of this, many households cannot afford proper healthcare and/or don’t have access to facilities. This situation is similar in Nicaragua and Panama as well. The Medical Brigades are an opportunity for medical students to help those who are in desperate need of health assistance.
In 2016, the University of Missouri sent 32 volunteers to a Medical Brigade in Panama. Tucker Sharp of Joplin, MO was one of those volunteers. Tucker Sharp and others have the opportunity to take the vitals and patient history of those in triage. They also shadowed licensed doctors and assisted pharmacists in the pharmacy. The Medical Brigades work with partnering communities to sustain a consistent level of healthcare through care, follow-ups, consultations, EHR management, and education. Tucker Sharp was able to raise nearly $2,000 for this much-needed cause
You can learn more about the University of Missouri Medical Brigade as well as more about Global Brigades here. In our next post, we will talk about his 2017 trip to Honduras.