Greetings friends, patient and members of the Chapala Lakeside community. There continue to be a good number of changes in the healthcare community and particularly in Chapala Med. The vision and mission of Chapala Med since it’s inception has been to provide the most caring, comprehensive, professional care to our patients based on excellence while giving back to the less fortunate in the community through donations in time and money to local charities and individuals. It is with this spirit in mind that I am honored to announce that I will be president of the Rotary Club of Ajijic for another year, effective July 2022. There will be some small changes in my schedule and I will have excellent support from our new geriatrician. Which brings me to the next points.
Chapala Med will be celebrating its 10 year anniversary this November and our team continues to grow not only in the number of specialists but also in the number of services we are able to offer our patients and the community. As medical services coordinator we will have a physician who has completed his specialty training in internal medicine and geriatrics, Dr. Marco Gonzalez.
During the month of June we observe Alzheimer´s & Brain Health Month. As we are theoretically at the latter stages of this COVID19 pandemic one of the lasting effects for many those who were infected with this virus are lasting neurological side effects and moderate to severe cognitive decline. I am sharing some articles which address these health issues.
There is a new virus that has made the news lately and there was one confirmed case in Puerto Vallarta reported this past week and it was an unnamed tourist who was said to be from Dallas and was partying at a popular hotel on the Playa de Los Muertos. There is only a great deal of speculation as to how many he people could have been infected. That will remain to be seen but I have included some WHO recommendations in this newsletter on how to protect yourself.
I enjoy sharing what sources of knowledge and entertainment that I hope you too may find interesting and enriching your lives. This past month I read one book that really hit close to home as it was written by a doctor who not only grew up in the South Side of Chicago but also worked in an ER there during this pandemic. The disparities in medical attention and profiling that goes on in modern medicine can no longer be ignored. The book THE EMERGENCY made me reflect upon my own practice and the access to top level healthcare here at Lakeside and the many similarities that exist for the underprivileged when it comes to gaining access to the TOP MEDICAL here. Chapala Med provides free medical care to the underprivileged but it is only a drop in the bucket of the vast needs here at Lakeside for this sector of the local population. The second recommendation I am making is from the ON BEING (NPR) Sunday morning program/podcast that I listen to religiously. The episode I am recommending is from a a Professor of Family Medicine at the Boonshoft School of Medicine at Wright State University in Ohio. She’s also a Clinical Professor Emeritus of Family and Community Medicine at UC San Francisco School of Medicine, that’s where she developed “The Healer’s Art,” her course for medical students. I hope you will find it worth your while to listen to this wonderful doctor and teacher of life.
We’d like to thank all who have supported Chapala Med in the past, present and future. Please remember that we are a small business and rely on your recommendations to continue to grow and provide service to the community.
Please take care of yourselves and those close to you.
Santiago R. Hernandez M.D.
