A team of associates from Centura Health recently returned home to Denver from a mission trip in Iquitos, Peru. The team of 18, which included associates from Centura Health, Boulder Community Hospital and the Boulder Medical Center, performed 23 surgeries at Clinica Adventista Ana Stahl and provided health care for more than 500 people living in remote villages along the Amazon River.

Iquitos, a city of 500,000 located in the Amazon basin, and the largest city in the world accessible only by boat or plane, has great health care needs. The services are limited and expensive for the local population, so most residents cannot afford to seek treatment.

The purpose of the February 16-24 medical mission trip, sponsored by the Centura Health Adventist hospitals-Avista Adventist Hospital in Louisville, Littleton Adventist Hospital in Littleton, Parker Adventist Hospital in Parker and Porter Adventist Hospital in Denver-was twofold. The mission served to improve the surgical services that Clinica Adventista Ana Stahl can provide to the community by upgrading operating room and diagnostic equipment, providing continuing education for surgeons and nurses and offering free surgeries for Peruvians who are unable to pay.

Additionally, the mission addressed the basic health needs of the indigenous people living in villages along the Amazon River and its tributaries by offering screenings, vaccinations and primary health education. Centura Health provided funding to refurbish a medical boat, used daily to transport clinical staff and medical supplies to the villages.

"We were able to bring essential medical equipment that they otherwise would not have access to," said Greg Hodgson, director of mission and ministry for Centura Health, and facilitator of the mission.

Centura Health partnered with Centennial-based Project C.U.R.E. to enlist help collecting donated medical supplies. Additionally, local medical supply companies donated $75,000 worth of equipment, supplies and medications. In total, the team delivered to Iquitos nearly $600,000 worth of new medical equipment, medications and supplies, including a new flat-screen video monitor, a cardiac monitor and essential tools for laparoscopic surgery.

Centura Health regularly conducts international mission trip projects. Future projects are planned for Peru, Rwanda, Nepal and other countries. A team will return to Iquitos April 27-May 5, and a trip to Rwanda is planned for July 5-16.

For more information on Centura Health, visit www.centura.org <http://www.centura.org/>.