DURING FEB 1 - APR 08, 2007 MARTIN STREL SWAM 5,268 KMS (3274 MILES) OF THE AMAZON RIVER! HE DEDICATED THE SWIM TO THE PROTECTION OF THE RAINFOREST. |
Establishing Telemedicine in Loreto Region of Peru
When we came to Iquitos the Navy Base held a formal reception for Martin. Admiral Fernando Palomino was welcoming the whole team. After the reception he invited Martin and I to the Navy officers party which was held at their club. Admiral arranged for me to meet with the President of the Regional Government of the Loreto Region, Mr. Juan Basquez, and the Director General of the main hospital in Iquitos. The Loreto region is the largest province in Peru, therefore they have even more remote areas compared to the Ucayali region we visited previously. The president was very impressed that President Portocarrero of Ucayali is so interested in bringing Telemedicine to Ucayali. I explained to all of them the function and capacity of Telemedicine and what it could do for their hospitals. They invited me to come visit 6 of their smaller hospitals around Iquitos. They seemed at least as interested in developing Telemedicine in the Loreto Region as the President Velasquez Portocarrero of the Ucayali Region. Dr. Casanova of the Centro de Salud asked to receive more information by email as well as the description of our project. It was interesting that even Admiral Palomino was interested in actively participating in setting up the Telemedicine projects which was not the case in Ucayali. Hopefully, with the help of the medical authorities, the Regional President as well as the Navy, we will find common and fertile ground in order to do great work together. All of them invited Dr. Latifi and me back to begin actual talks about how to set up the projects. |