Health Check at Spanish Lookout Clinic

-
  

  What is a health check like at the community-owned Spanish Lookout clinic? Is it expensive? Is the waiting room crowded? Is it a place where you feel better simply knowing that you're there? Are the nurses friendly, kind and above all patient? For us, its been our favorite medical center from minor sores to childbirth, from medical advice to renting crutches.
  Below is a brief story of our most recent experience:
  ________________________________________________

 "Hello, how can I help you?" A thoughtful-looking girl with smooth chocolate skin greeted us. Her dark skin contrasted beautifully with her blue cape dress and snow white headcovering.
  "Our 2 children have been coughing and throwing up for a whole day now. We're not sure if it's their lungs infected or something else."
  "Alright, come with me," and she led us across the hall to the stats room where she proceeded to weigh, measure, and check their blood pressure after which she instructed us to take a seat in the clean and spotless waiting room. No shabby upholstery, no rickety chairs, no adult pictures stuck to the walls, no ads of any kind fluttering on the doors and windows, no stray tobacco smoke wafting in. Even the restroom was clean, well organized and stocked with plenty of...uh...toilet paper which for a Belizean is like discovering a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. And that says a lot since most public restrooms in the country are covered in graffiti, lack toilet paper, are cleaned once a week, and leave you gasping for fresh air after you emerge since they do not have proper ventilation.




  Fortunately for us, we were their first afternoon patients so it didn't take long until a tall nurse wearing a black headcovering cheerfully ushered us into the consulting room.
  We explained our situation again. She listened carefully, maintaining eye focus the whole time and letting us have our say. (I silently gave her a 5-star rating on that) She then turned to our little ones and asked them a few questions to put them at ease. They visibly relaxed and readily answered.
  She listened with her stethoscope, peered into their eyes and ears with her little flashlight, checked their throat, and pronounced the results of her discovery. Nothing worrisome...at least to her as a nurse...and something that would disappear within a day or two with the right medication.



  The prescription was written out, we were escorted down to the pharmacy, and she returned to her room with a wave and "have a good day". At the pharmacy we were greeted by a Spanish (Mestizo) girl with a green cape dress and white headcovering. From her we turned to the cashier. Our total?
  $90. Belize dollars. That included consultation fee, two or three antibiotics, ibuprofen, cough medicine, and a few unknown odds and ends which somehow ended up on the list. If we had visited a private doctor, the consultation alone would likely have been more than half of that and our total would most likely have been close to $200, not counting transportation cost.
  We pushed open the glass door, stepped out onto the glare of the afternoon sun, and headed home.
__________________________________________________
  
  Although Spanish Lookout clinic is owned by the Mennonite residents of said community, the staff is composed of a mixed female team from various religious backgrounds and ethnicities. Hence you might see a lady doctor wearing makeup, or an intern in pants, some wearing plain cape dresses with white headcoverings and others with colorful dresses yet black headcoverings.
  I mentioned a lady doctor above. Besides her, they also have a certified full-time midwife with assistants and a well-stocked pharmacy, ambulances, and a volunteer team of certified emergency personnel...but they do not have an ultrasound or X-ray machine. Based on reports it might not be long until they acquire at least one of them.
 The $90 that elated us during the day would have been a far different story if we would have required their services after 5pm. Any service after that hour carries a heavy price be it a finger that's sliced off or just a bad stomach that requires a bottle of PeptoBismol.

The old clinic; the building is used as a maternity area
























                                                   A. Mendoza
  

Popular posts from this blog

Mennonite Foods

-
Image
         The Old Colony, Kleine Gemeinde, and Old Order have a diet which mainly consists of homemade bread, cottage cheese, noodles, pork, potatoes, and stewed beans. Milk is used in many of their meals, such as casseroles and faspa foods. Some dishes from the Plautdietsch groups are:   nuddelsuppe:  noodle soup made with home-made noodles    werenaki:  (perogies see picture above ) made of pockets of flour with  glums  (cottage cheese) filling,  schmaunfat  (white gravy made of flour, milk and black pepper), and  formavorscht  (pork sausage). The perogies are then boiled and served. I recommend it to anyone who wants to try out Plautdietsch foods although I prefer the fried ones.  Cheesy or creamy casseroles: often it will contain meat and cream with potatoes or macaroni   borscht:  a vegetable soup with bits of meat sometimes added to it    Clops: patties from either ground m...
Read more

Mennonites and Music

-
   Music, the comfort of the soul, the way of sin to some, a sign of true worship to others.   Within the Mennonite family in Belize music to some degree is used or listened to, with each branch viewing it based on their understanding of the Bible.                          The Kleine Gemeinde   Used to consider any musical instrument as wrong. But after acapella recorded music was approved, it introduced a need for tape recorders, then slowly over the years other instruments were approved. Church singing is still acapella, and radio and TV are still not accepted. However, instruments such as violins (which is often played by KG youth girls) and guitars are used during youth singing, community concerts, and personal entertainment or family singing. The organ is also used sometimes in such events.       The Beachy and Conservative Mennonites     Also sing acapella style dur...
Read more

Mennonite Houses

-
Image
 Mennonites in Belize have become famous for their custom-built wooden "Mennonite houses". The two main  house builders in the country,  Plett's Home Builders and Linda Vista Lumberyard , both located in Spanish Lookout, have become reknowned for their prefabricated houses which are built in Spanish Lookout and shipped countrywide. Houses are built from lumber or colored sheet metal and prices will vary of course based on the amount of details a customer wants. A small house with 2 bedrooms and a bathroom and kitchen may cost you an estimated US$12,000 to US$15,000. (Check directly with the company for up-to-date pricing and delivery fees.)    A "Mennonite house", custom built by Plett's Home Builder's; photo via Facebook   Plett's Home Builders offers both metal and wood siding with a variety of porch and window designs. Linda Vista, which is just down the road from Plett's, also offers excellent building options. Also inside Spanish Lookout i...
Read more