January 2nd, 2002
Muisne – Coast of Ecuador
By Jessica Vorpahl

This morning, we began our adventures by taking a boat ride across a narrow channel to visit the town of Muisne, located on the Ecuadorian coastline. We walked through the small town to visit the city’s public hospital. The hospital’s capacity was 20 beds, but only 2 patients were staying in the hospital at the time of our visit. There were 6-7 staff doctors for the hospital, but only 1 doctor was on duty. Our tour was given by the head nurse, and we were able to see the emergency room, basic procedure room, delivery room, operating room, recovery room, and patient hospital rooms. The delivery room contained 2 delivery tables with rusty stirrups – one of the tables was broken. The hospital does have sterile gloves to use for deliveries, but often must be re-used during busy delivery times. The operating room doors were opened for us to see in – there was a single table, a broken antique-looking anesthesiology machine, and a small machine for suctioning. There was a shortage of scrubs for the surgeons to use there. The equipment used for surgeries and minor procedures was sterilized in dry heat, but not autoclaved.

Behind the hospital was an out-patient clinic, which was closed at the time of our visit due to the holiday season. The clinic and hospital does not accept patients with tuberculosis as a result of inadequate facilities. The refrigerator that the hospital uses to store vaccines was completely empty; there was a provincial shortage of vaccines. Our group left several large boxes of medications and medical supplies as a donation to the hospital.
After leaving Muisne, a boat took us along the channel to La Isla Bonita, “a beautiful island.” The island had few inhabitants with only a couple huts and one larger restaurant visible. We enjoyed the early afternoon by sharing philosophical observations of our adventures thus far, with a delicious treat of fresh pineapple. Our trip to La Isla Bonita was completed by a fantastic lunch of fish and concha (the Ecuadorian mussel).