READING, Pa. – A team from Berks and Lancaster counties is preparing to head to the Dominican Republic on a medical missionary trip.
“We’ll be going to the Samana Province of the Dominican Republic where we work in primary care clinics. We’re working with local physicians there,” says Dr. William Lovett.
Doctors William Lovett and Renee Riddle have been going on these trips for several years.
“I like to say I get back to why I went into medicine,” said Dr. Riddle, a Reading Hospital pediatrician. “I’m caring for the patients in their own space, meeting them where they’re at.”
The medical mission started in 2009 as part of a residency program global health elective. The team also has nurses and medical students.
“I love that we go back year after year,” said Riddle. “We get to know the patients; we get to know the communities. We immerse ourselves in the communities and try to work with their system, rather than bringing in our form of healthcare and then leaving.”
“We know even in developing countries, chronic disease is the biggest cause of death,” said Lovett. “It’s not the acute illnesses, which they certainly have, different ones than we have here, but the chronic disease like diabetes and hypertension are the biggest causes of illness there.”
The experience is mutually beneficial.
“I think it’s really important that physicians here have some knowledge of the Dominican culture and healthcare so that when Dominican patients come here to seek care, we sort of know the context of what their life has been like,” explained Lovett.
“It helps me to be more globally aware,” added Riddle. “It also kind of appreciates what we have here that they don’t have sometimes.”
Riddle says they are always looking for donations and volunteers. She says the Reading Hospital Foundation manages the donations and provides additional support. They also receive support from some area churches, organizations and the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic.