University of Arizona dermatologist Vivian Y. Shi, MD (at right center top row), completed a medical mission to Chiapas, Mexico, this past summer, accompanying a five-person team made up mostly of clinicians working at Tucson’s Clinica Amistad.
Clinica Amistad—one of several clinical programs that offer UA students, physicians and faculty an opportunity to participate in the UA Commitment to Underserved Peoples (CUP) Program—is a free health clinic that opened in March 2003 and serves Tucson’s low-income uninsured community. The clinic is a project of Amistad y Salud, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. It’s located at El Pueblo Regional Center at 101 W. Irvington Road, Building 3.
Dr. Shi is an assistant professor of medicine in the UA Division of Dermatology and director of the Eczema and Skin Barrier Research Program and Follicular Disorder Clinic at Banner – University Medical Center Tucson and South.
“The trip was to San Cristóbal, Chiapas,” noted Dr. Shi, who joined the UA faculty a year earlier. “I'm including a blog page, Dr. Ken Iserson's write-up (he is the legendary Emergency Medicine Professor Emeritus), and a few representative photos that go with it.”
You can read Dr. Iserson’s blog post here: “Where in the World is Ken? Chiapas, Mexico” | Posted July 11, 2017.
In Chiapas, they met with Sergio Castro, a humanitarian in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, who has helped build schools, provide clean water and provide medical services in the region. His story was told in 2013 by the New York Times in “In Mexico, a Healer Who Asks for Nothing in Return.” A photo gallery by professional photographer Janet Jarman illustrates the challenges faced in providing care here.
This was not Dr. Shi’s first medical mission. Other’s she has participated in include to Kathmandu, Nepal, after earthquakes struck the area in 2015, Tuensang, India, to provide care for underserved villages near the Burmese border, and Shanghai, China, as part of a medical student volunteer team assisting victims of another earthquake in Szechuan province in 2013.
She said she was enthralled by her experience in Chiapas and looks forward to returning.
In addition to to being featured in Dr. Iserson's blog, Dr. Shi also can be seen commentiong in a recent MD Magazine article on "For atopic dermatitis (AD), 2017 marks ushering in of 'new era,'" on delays in bringing biologics to market for skin disorders such as psoriasis.
EXTRA INFO: Where in the World is Ken?
UA Professor Emeritus of Emergency Medicine Kenneth V. Iserson, MD, MBA, FACEP, now limits his medical practice to global and disaster medicine. He is also medical director (emeritus) of the Southern Arizona Rescue Association, a supervisory physician with Arizona’s Disaster Medical Assistance Team (AZ-1), and a member of the American Red Cross disaster response team. In the past few years, he has practiced or taught on all seven continents, including 6 months as lead physician for the U.S. Antarctic Program. He also runs the www.reeme.arizona.edu Project that freely distributes more than 700 Spanish-language PowerPoint presentations on emergency medicine.
- “Where in the World is Ken? Reykavik, Iceland” | Posted May 23, 2018
- “Where in the World is Ken? San Juan, Puerto Rico” | Posted Dec. 14, 2017
- “Where in the World is Ken? Antarctica, Of Course” | Posted Aug. 19, 2016
- “Where in the World is Ken? Another Month in Antarctica” | Posted March 30, 2016
Read more of Dr. Iserson’s adventures in Antarctica in blog posts at ACEP Now, an official publication of the American College of Emergency Physicians: https://www.acepnow.com/tag/kenneth-v-iserson/
ALSO SEE:
“UA/Banner Dermatology Cut Ribbon on New Consolidated Clinic Site” | Posted July 5, 2018
“Skin Disorders, Valley Fever Focus of DOM Research Seminar Lectures” | Posted March 13, 2018
“Dr. Shi Wins $20,000 Dermatology Foundation Grant to Study Causes of Eczema” | Posted May 31, 2017
"With Skin in the Game, Graduating UA Med Student ‘Anthony’ Cervantes Makes Good" | Posted May 11, 2017
“Dermatology Welcomes Drs. Kurtzman and Shi” | Posted Aug. 31, 2016