FACES & THE next

generation of telemedicine

Whether the FACES team is in the examination rooms in Lambayeque, trekking into the Amazonas region in the north or discussion after-surgery treatment with families, they've continually been struck by one thing: everyone has a cell phone. Although some of our patients and their families are illiterate, they still have a cell phone. In today's connected world, owning a cell is an essential part of staying in contact with friends and relatives, and obtaining information about market prices, health and current events.

The FACES speech program utilizes telemedicine to connect with the most difficult to reach, poor populations in Peru. We currently provide speech therapy to our patients via video-enabled devices (such as laptops and iPads) and are now beginning to delve into a new realm: speech therapy via cellphones. Our research has shown that tele-medical speech therapy is nearly as effective as face-to-face therapy. Because almost all of our patients own or have access to a cell phone, this opens up new avenues of connectivity. WiFi, 3G and 4G coverage do not always reach rural populations, but cell service most often does.

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Mark Your Calendars - FACES 2012 Auction

The date for the 2012 FACES Auction at Andina Restaurant in the Pearl is set for Monday, October 8th, 2012. More information to com. Stay tuned!

 

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WHAT'S HAPPENING AT FACES?

 

2012 Surgical Trip Report

The FACES 2012 International Surgical Team operated on a total of 31 patients, performed speech-therapy evaluations and consults, enrolled patients into the tele-therapy program and built local partnerships. It was a busy week for the team, who spent their days at Belen Hospital working with local doctors, nurses, medical students and administrative staff to ensure that the surgeries ran smoothly.

Read the full Surgical Trip story here.

Meet the 2012 Surgical Team

The FACES 2012 Surgical Team returned from a 10-day surgical trip to Lambayeque, Peru, on January 30th. The team of 23 members was made up of talented surgeons, speech therapists, nurses, scrub technicians interpreters and support staff.

Most members of the January 2012 Surgical Team come from the Portland, OR, area and one member joined the team from Nashville, TN. .

Meet the FACES January 2012 Surgical Team here.

Comprehensive Care: The Importance of Speech Therapy

FACES Foundation focuses on providing the highest quality, comprehensive care for indigent cleft lip and palate patients in Peru. After the surgeries are completed, we enroll a number of our patients in our unique speech therapy program via Internet connectivity. Speech therapy post-surgery is an essential piece of comprehensive cleft care. We spoke with FACES speech therapists Lance Tsugawa and Jennifer Craig about their work.

Read the full speech therapy story here.

FACES and OHSU Donate CO2 Monitor to Belen Hospital in Peru

During the Janaury 2012 Surgical Trip to Lambayeque, Peru, FACES Foundation donated a CO2 montior to Belen Hospital. The donation of the monitor came jointly from the FACES team and from the OHSU Department of Perioperative Medicine.

Director of Belen Hospital, Dr. Alejandro Chira, expressed his greatest thanks and appreciation for the donation.

Read the full story here.

Partnerships: FACES Builds Local Sustainability by Strengthening Partners in Lambayeque, Peru

On the recent pre-surgical trip to Peru, the FACES team was hard at work building local community partnerships, essential to creating local sustainability. As in the past, FACES worked with the local Lions Club, who have become a continuing invested partner in the FACES surgical and speech campaigns. The Lambayeque Lions Club help find, feed and care for FACES patients. Additionally, the FACES team met with officials at the Belen Hospital, where the team performs the surgeries, to discuss long-term partnerships.

FACES Visits Clean Water Project in San Antonio, Peru

FACES, along with partners Cafe Femenino and Green Empowerment, helped bring a clean water system to the village of San Antonio, Amazonas, Peru. Thanks to the joint efforts of these groups, along with the dedicated work of San Antonio community members, the village of 500 people now has clean, potable water in every home.

During the recent November/December pre-surgical trip to Peru, FACES representatives made a trip to San Antonio to check out the completed water project. Additionally, Dr. Albert screened patients in San Antonio, several of whom will receive surgeries on the January 2012 surgical trip.

Read the full story, along with photos and videos here.

VIDEO: SPEECH therapy Via internet

FACES' innovative model uses Internet connectivity to provide speech therapy to medically isolated patients in northern Peru.

You may have heard that FACES utilizes Internet connectivity in innovative ways in providing the highest quality patient care to indigent, medically isolated populations... But, how exactly does it work? At right, you can see the FACES method in action. In this video the late Dr. Robert Blakeley coaches FACES patient Milagros on how to clearly and effectively make the proper sounds of speech. Speech therapy is an essential component of comprehensive cleft care. After surgery patients like Milagros need this therapy to be able to clearly communicate and be understood, two aspects of being able to function fully in society after cleft lip and palate surgery. Due to geographic isolation and financial restrictions, many of our patients have no access to highly-trained speech therapists in Peru. This is why we've developed the FACES Speech Model - because we believe that each and every patient deserves the best, highest quality care, no matter where they live or how much money they have. Milagros was one of the first FACES patients and has since finished with speech program. She will graduate from college with a degree in chemical engineering this winter.