The Medical Brigade of the Colombian Civil Air Patrol (PAC) landed in Puerto López, and several healthcare professionals attended to about 730 people from the municipality, who had free access to surgery and outpatient services in August.
The brigade involved a team of 39 volunteers and 10 PAC members, providing comprehensive and quality care in outpatient services such as dermatology, gynecology, optometry, pediatrics, and ultrasound, as well as surgical services in gynecology, ophthalmology, general surgery, and family planning methods. The initiative contributed to improving the quality of life for 730 community members with around 1,300 services provided, including 630 specialized medical consultations, 84 surgeries, 400 surgery support interventions, 180 non-surgical procedures, among others.
"We continue to promote initiatives that promote the well-being of our neighboring communities and contribute to closing social gaps. We express our deepest gratitude to those who participated in the brigades, as well as to the Mayor's Office of Puerto López for coordinating the Brigades, and to the Colombian Civil Air Patrol for their professionalism and for being our allies in the mission to contribute to the promotion of the health of our neighbors," mentioned Diego Morales, Manager of Neighbor Relations at GeoPark.
GeoPark has been a strategic ally for the Colombian Civil Air Patrol for over seven years. "Together, we have reached Casanare, Meta, and Putumayo, with a total investment of over $2.5 billion by the company," said Pamela Estrada Ocampo, General Director of the Colombian Civil Air Patrol.
She added, "The joint work with our allies allows us to bring the hospital to those who need it most to provide access to high-quality health services. We are very happy to have arrived for the first time under this alliance in Puerto López and to have offered medical, surgical, and diagnostic services to the most vulnerable people in this municipality. Thanks to our allies and volunteers, we managed to join efforts to positively impact the quality of hundreds of people."
The realization of these social investment projects in Puerto López has been possible thanks to the progress of oil exploration activities carried out by GeoPark in the municipality.
A medida que la compañía continúe desarrollando estas actividades, seguirá implementando iniciativas que, como esta, tienen el objetivo de promover el bienestar de las comunidades vecinas.
"In most municipalities in Colombia, there are no specialist doctors or diagnostic or surgical services. People must travel to intermediate cities to be treated in hospitals with a higher level of complexity," Pamela assured.
This implies transportation and accommodation costs that, in many cases, people cannot afford. The Colombian Civil Air Patrol brigades ensured that they managed to bring the hospital to the people, as they have logistical capacity to transport more than two tons of cargo with equipment, supplies, instruments, and medications that allow them to transform a basic hospital into one with surgery rooms in different specialties, such as general surgery, gynecology, and ophthalmology, in a couple of hours.
The Director-General of the Patrol added that "the Medical Brigade of the Colombian Civil Air Patrol also transforms classrooms of local schools into clinics specializing in pediatrics, dermatology, optometry, ultrasound, and family planning."
The Patrol has various allies that make its goal of bringing health care across Colombia possible. There are many organizations and individuals that make these efforts possible. Volunteer healthcare professionals and pilots are essential to achieving the mission they carry out. They also have the support of private companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Terpel (a country ally of the Patrol, which provides fuel for all its missions), Colmédica, Clínica del Country, Clínica La Colina, Hocol, Hacienda la Gloria, GeoPark, Envía, among others.
