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	Gracias a Dios receives health care from Honduran, U.S. services
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        <h1 class="title">Gracias a Dios receives health care from Honduran, U.S. services</h1>
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            <img src="https://media.defense.gov/2016/Feb/03/2001503367/1920/1080/0/160128-O-VI420-035.JPG"
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                 alt="Service members from Joint Task Force-Bravo’s Medical Element unload medical supplies for a Medical Readiness Training Exercise in Nueva Jerusalén, Gracias a Dios Department, Honduras, Jan. 28, 2016. These partnerships allow service members to engage with the local community, while supporting local health organizations in remote areas of the host nation in need of medical services.   (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel/Released)"
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            <div class="image-title">Gracias a Dios, Honduras – </div>
            <div class="image-caption">Service members from Joint Task Force-Bravo’s Medical Element unload medical supplies for a Medical Readiness Training Exercise in Nueva Jerusalén, Gracias a Dios Department, Honduras, Jan. 28, 2016. These partnerships allow service members to engage with the local community, while supporting local health organizations in remote areas of the host nation in need of medical services.   (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel/Released)</div>
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            <img src="https://media.defense.gov/2016/Feb/03/2001503366/1920/1080/0/160128-O-VI420-053.JPG"
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                 alt="Sgt. Luis Alons211099o Aleman, with the Honduran Army  6th Infantry Battalion, gives patients a preventive health class before visiting the medical care providers during a Medical Readiness Training Exercise in Nueva Jerusalén, Gracias a Dios Department, Honduras, Jan. 28, 2016. This class is intended to help prevent many of the common illnesses in the area, which can be prevented through basic hygiene measures. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel/Released)"
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            <div class="image-title">Gracias a Dios, Honduras – </div>
            <div class="image-caption">Sgt. Luis Alons211099o Aleman, with the Honduran Army  6th Infantry Battalion, gives patients a preventive health class before visiting the medical care providers during a Medical Readiness Training Exercise in Nueva Jerusalén, Gracias a Dios Department, Honduras, Jan. 28, 2016. This class is intended to help prevent many of the common illnesses in the area, which can be prevented through basic hygiene measures. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel/Released)</div>
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                 alt="U.S. Army Captain Marshon Ford, Joint Task Force-Bravo Medical Element nurse, prepares de-worming medication for children during a Medical Readiness Training Exercise in Nueva Jerusalén, Gracias a Dios Department, Honduras, Jan. 28, 2016. The medication is one of many services the MEDRETE provides to patients, including, a basic health class from Honduran military representatives and dental services, to name a few. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel/Released)"
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            <div class="image-title">Gracias a Dios, Honduras – </div>
            <div class="image-caption">U.S. Army Captain Marshon Ford, Joint Task Force-Bravo Medical Element nurse, prepares de-worming medication for children during a Medical Readiness Training Exercise in Nueva Jerusalén, Gracias a Dios Department, Honduras, Jan. 28, 2016. The medication is one of many services the MEDRETE provides to patients, including, a basic health class from Honduran military representatives and dental services, to name a few. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel/Released)</div>
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                 alt="Two Service members with Joint Task Force-Bravo ́s Medical Element perform a dental extraction from a patient during a Medical Readiness Training Exercise in Nueva Jerusalén, Gracias a Dios Department, Honduras, Jan. 28, 2016. Though considered an exercise, the MEDRETE provides real services to people in remote areas throughout Central America and gives the U.S. Servicemembers a chance to practice integrating with the local healthcare providers of the nation they visit. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel/Released)"
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            <div class="image-title">Gracias a Dios, Honduras – </div>
            <div class="image-caption">Two Service members with Joint Task Force-Bravo ́s Medical Element perform a dental extraction from a patient during a Medical Readiness Training Exercise in Nueva Jerusalén, Gracias a Dios Department, Honduras, Jan. 28, 2016. Though considered an exercise, the MEDRETE provides real services to people in remote areas throughout Central America and gives the U.S. Servicemembers a chance to practice integrating with the local healthcare providers of the nation they visit. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel/Released)</div>
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            <img src="https://media.defense.gov/2016/Feb/03/2001503363/1920/1080/0/160128-O-VI420-174.JPG"
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                 alt="A Honduran soldier performs a tooth extraction from a child during a Medical Readiness Training Exercise between U.S. Service members from Joint Task Force-Bravo and Honduran participants, in Nueva Jerusalén, Gracias a Dios Department, Honduras, Jan. 28, 2016.  These partnerships allow service members to engage with the local community, while supporting local military and local health organizations in remote areas of the country. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel/Released)"
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            <div class="image-title">Gracias a Dios, Honduras – </div>
            <div class="image-caption">A Honduran soldier performs a tooth extraction from a child during a Medical Readiness Training Exercise between U.S. Service members from Joint Task Force-Bravo and Honduran participants, in Nueva Jerusalén, Gracias a Dios Department, Honduras, Jan. 28, 2016.  These partnerships allow service members to engage with the local community, while supporting local military and local health organizations in remote areas of the country. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel/Released)</div>
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            <img src="https://media.defense.gov/2016/Feb/03/2001503361/1920/1080/0/160128-O-VI420-099.JPG"
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                 alt="Gracias a Dios, Honduras – U.S. Service members with Joint Task Force-Bravo’s Medical Element work side by side with Honduran medical providers and volunteers during a Medical Readiness Training Exercise in Nueva Jerusalén, Gracias a Dios Department, Honduras, Jan. 28, 2016. Patients are seen going through a screening process, which determines what kind of medical attention they require, prior to receiving medication for their ailments. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel/Released)"
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            <div class="image-title">Gracias a Dios, Honduras – </div>
            <div class="image-caption">Gracias a Dios, Honduras – U.S. Service members with Joint Task Force-Bravo’s Medical Element work side by side with Honduran medical providers and volunteers during a Medical Readiness Training Exercise in Nueva Jerusalén, Gracias a Dios Department, Honduras, Jan. 28, 2016. Patients are seen going through a screening process, which determines what kind of medical attention they require, prior to receiving medication for their ailments. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel/Released)</div>
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                 alt="U.S. Army Capt. Penny Wood, a service member with Joint Task Force-Bravo’s Medical Element, checks a child’s temperature during a Medical Readiness Training Exercise in Nueva Jerusalén, Gracias a Dios Department, Honduras, Jan. 28, 2016. For many mothers, these medical exercises between the U.S. and Honduras are the only opportunity for their children to receive medical attention since health care is limited in the remote region. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel/Released)"
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            <div class="image-title">Gracias a Dios, Honduras – </div>
            <div class="image-caption">U.S. Army Capt. Penny Wood, a service member with Joint Task Force-Bravo’s Medical Element, checks a child’s temperature during a Medical Readiness Training Exercise in Nueva Jerusalén, Gracias a Dios Department, Honduras, Jan. 28, 2016. For many mothers, these medical exercises between the U.S. and Honduras are the only opportunity for their children to receive medical attention since health care is limited in the remote region. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel/Released)</div>
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                 alt="A Honduran medical provider plays with a local boy after finishing his consultation during a Medical Readiness Training Exercise in Nueva Jerusalén, Gracias a Dios Department, Honduras, Jan. 28, 2016. These exercises are supported by Joint Task Force-Bravo and function through a partnership with Honduran military and Ministry of Health representatives.  (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel/Released)"
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            <div class="image-title">Gracias a Dios, Honduras – </div>
            <div class="image-caption">A Honduran medical provider plays with a local boy after finishing his consultation during a Medical Readiness Training Exercise in Nueva Jerusalén, Gracias a Dios Department, Honduras, Jan. 28, 2016. These exercises are supported by Joint Task Force-Bravo and function through a partnership with Honduran military and Ministry of Health representatives.  (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel/Released)</div>
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                 alt="Service members from Joint Task Force-Bravo Medical Element assigned to pharmacy duties, read prescriptions before dispatching to the local population during a Medical Readiness Training Exercise in Nueva Jerusalén, Gracias a Dios Department, Honduras, Jan. 28, 2016. This is the final station that patients visit after receiving a basic health class, going through a screening process, and after seeing a medical provider. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel/Released)"
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            <div class="image-title">Gracias a Dios, Honduras – </div>
            <div class="image-caption">Service members from Joint Task Force-Bravo Medical Element assigned to pharmacy duties, read prescriptions before dispatching to the local population during a Medical Readiness Training Exercise in Nueva Jerusalén, Gracias a Dios Department, Honduras, Jan. 28, 2016. This is the final station that patients visit after receiving a basic health class, going through a screening process, and after seeing a medical provider. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel/Released)</div>
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                 alt="Candida Derek Jackson, Nueva Jerusalén Municipal Health Director, Gracias a Dios, where Nueva Jerusalén is located, speaks to the people in native Miskito language, to explain the kinds of services provided and the procedures to follow, during a Medical Readiness Training Exercise, January 28, 2016. This joint effort between U.S. service members and Honduran health representatives will aid communities in the remote area that is lacking proper health care facilities and medications. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel/Released)"
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            <div class="image-title">Gracias a Dios, Honduras – </div>
            <div class="image-caption">Candida Derek Jackson, Nueva Jerusalén Municipal Health Director, Gracias a Dios, where Nueva Jerusalén is located, speaks to the people in native Miskito language, to explain the kinds of services provided and the procedures to follow, during a Medical Readiness Training Exercise, January 28, 2016. This joint effort between U.S. service members and Honduran health representatives will aid communities in the remote area that is lacking proper health care facilities and medications. (U.S. Army photo by Maria Pinel/Released)</div>
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    <div><b>By Maria Pinel</b> <span class="date">/ Published Feb. 3, 2016</span></div>
    <span class="dateline-text">Gracias a Dios, Honduras , </span>
    The Honduran Army, representatives with the Honduran Ministry of Health and volunteers from Honduran medical schools, participated in a Medical Readiness Training Exercise, or MEDRETE, with support from Servicemembers from Joint Task Force-Bravo Medical Element, in the village of Nueva Jerusalén, Gracias a Dios Department, Honduras, January 28, 2016, providing the local population of this remote area with free medical care and medications.<br />
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MEDRETEs are a part of U.S. Southern Command's commitment to supporting partnership in the Central American region, and also provide Servicemembers a chance to integrate with local health providers in the nation, making this exercise a valuable joint operation between partner nations in the area and the U.S.<br />
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"Honduras has been an ally to the U.S. and these exercises encourage a friendship between both countries, and overall are a benefit for the people that live in these communities that are hard to reach, as is the case in Gracias a Dios," said Honduran Army Sgt. Luis Alonso Aleman, 6th Infantry Battalion officer in charge of preventive medicine. "This is a huge benefit since they don't have access to proper medical attention in their communities."<br />
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Aleman provided a health class for the local population that visited the MEDRETE site, teaching them about proper personal hygiene and sanitation, which included tips on how to purify water for drinking and how to prevent diseases that are attacking the region such as Dengue, Chikungunya and Zika.<br />
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Currently, the Gracias a Dios region relies on deteriorated and under-stocked health centers. The class Aleman facilitated at the MEDRETE, was the first step in a series of services for patients transiting room-to-room to receive the proper medical attention and medication, which the remote region lacks.<br />
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"It is important that we receive this help, particularly in this area, since the health situation is not good," said Candida Derek Jackson, Nueva Jerusalén Municipal Health Director. "This is a decentralized municipality, and therefore the funds we receive are not enough for the purchasing of medications, given the way the population is distributed. Through this exercise people will receive the proper medication, after a medical diagnosis, and this is a great aid for the Miskito people.<br />
<br />
Supervisors from the children's clinic and the regional coordinator for the promotion of health accompanied Derek, who oversaw the patient referral process and also helped translate conversations from Spanish to the local Miskito, dialect, explaining to them the procedures to follow.<br />
<br />
Many people traveled for hours from different communities and villages, walking under the sun and through the difficult terrain, to receive free basic health care and medicine.<br />
"Nueva Jerusalén, Belen and Cocobila have three health centers which are available to cover 25 villages of Gracias a Dios, so today there are people from several communities present," Derek said.<br />
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"This type of mission, not only for Nueva Jerusalén, but also for the neighboring communities, is very important," said China Taylor Wood, Nueva Jerusalén Health Center nurse.. "We are lacking medication and through this people can de-worm their children and also receive vitamins. This mission is very important for this community."<br />
<br />
Due to bad weather conditions the mission was cut short, however in one day's work, over 470 people were able to receive medical care, dental care and medications.<br />
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