Travel Info Hond Veins 2010

This page is for participants in the 2010 Honduras trip. If you would like information on our trips, please email: mdoherty@wisc.edu

Latest Updates are at the bottom of this page.

For Honduras Vein Trip 2010 participants!

Phlebology Trip March 20-27, 2010

Countdown clock to when we will see you in San Pedro Sula, Honduras!!

Welcome to the Honduras trip info site! The goal of this page is to post important information on this site that will help every one with their preparations, and travel, for the Hackett Hemwall 2010 Phlebology trip.

Information will be added as time goes on. If you think of items that you feel would be helpful, please email me and let me know. mdoherty@wisc.edu

Dates: March 20, 2010 to March 27, 2010 - Saturday to Saturday.

Fees: Your fees cover your hotel room (2 people to a room) and all group meals in Honduras, ground transportation once you get to the airport in San Pedro Sula on March 20, (you need to arrive by 3:00 pm), transportation to clinic sites and transportation back to the airport in San Pedro Sula on March 27, 2010, for flights departing San Pedro Sula after 11:45 am (not for earlier morning flights). Fees also cover the education and training and help with the cost of our medical supplies that we use in Honduras and for the cost of transporting supplies to Honduras. Everyone, including clinic directors, and instructors, pay for their airfare to Honduras. The fee that we charge participants is set to only cover the HHF expenses - the foundation just hopes to “break even” on this and all other projects! If you have questions on our fee structure, please contact Mary Doherty or Jeff Patterson. You will be able to pay your fees with PayPal or check.

Physician: $1000

Non-Physicians (nurses, helpers, assistants, etc): $350

Private room additional charge: $125 per week

All fees are due by January 31, 2010. Your place on the trip roster is not guaranteed until your fees are paid in full - or unless you have made arrangements with Jeff and Mary.

To pay your fees, please use the PayPal buttons below OR if you would prefer, pay by check - Check should be made out to The Hackett Hemwall Foundation and mailed to: Julie Olson, HHF Treasurer, 4606 Shore Acres Road, Monona, WI 53716

Use the Pull Down menu option for the Trip Fee (Physician & Non-Physician fee). Add Private Room option if you would would like to request a private room. Add CME credits if you would like them. When all selections are made, use View Cart button to check “order” and make payment with your credit card on Pay Pal.

Required Documents: All physicians must submit a copy of their current license to practice medicine in their home state/country. I also need a copy of nurse’s licenses. These licenses must be current as of March 2010 - when you will be practicing medicine in Honduras.. Also, physicians that have not gone with the HHF to Honduras before, must submit a copy of their medical school diploma. These are requirements of the Honduras Medical Society - and we, the HHF, must abide by them. I have to submit these documents to the medical society at least one month before you practice medicine in Honduras. Therefore, I need your documents sooner rather than later - please take care of this NOW. Only licensed MDs and DOs are recognized and allowed to practice medicine in Honduras. (Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants or other mid level providers, along with Naturopathic physicians are not recognized by Honduras nor can they legally practice medicine there - the HHF strictly follows these regulations) Fax forms to: 608-256-1893 or email to: mdoherty@wisc.edu

We also need everyone to complete and return the Application form and a “Release” form. You all should have received those forms by email already - if you don’t have them, go to the end of this page and click, print, complete and fax to me - 608-256-1893.

Travel Information - We will be meeting flights in San Pedro Sula, Honduras on Saturday, March 20, 2010. You must arrive in San Pedro Sula by 3:05 pm. The HHF will have buses to transport the group and luggage to Tela. We must depart San Pedro Sula airport as soon as the flight arriving at 3:05 gets there... we want to travel during daylight hours! If you have any questions on this, please contact Mary BEFORE you book your flights. We will also get you back to San Pedro Sula for your return flight on Saturday, March 27, 2010. We are not able to get people back to San Pedro Sula for flights before 11:43 am. Do not book an earlier flight!! I will attach a Travel Request form - use this form if you would like the HHF travel agent, Brenda Trainor, of Pyramid Travel, to make reservations for you. Brenda has been helping our group for 7 years now and knows the itineraries that work for the group. She does charge a fee, as all travel agents do, but the cost is well worth it!! Brenda’s fax and phone numbers are on the form.

“Click” on form, print and fax....

If Brenda makes your reservations, she will forward to me a copy of your itinerary. If you make your own reservations, please send me a copy of your itinerary.... that way I know where we will be meeting you - in Madison, Chicago, Houston or San Pedro Sula... and know where to start looking for you if you aren’t there!

Immunizations/medications: Honduras does not require any vaccines. The HHF recommends that you are up to date on tetanus, and Hepatitis A & B. Also, please make your own decision on taking anti malaria medications - check the CDC website for current information. You will be in urban areas. The last time I checked the website it said that if you were in rural areas they recommend chloroquine. The decision to take or not take medication is yours! Typically on our trips, about 50% of the participants take chloroquine and 50% don’t... again, this is something you need to decide on yourself. If you do decide to take it, remember, you need to start taking the medication 2 weeks before you go to Honduras, take it while you are in Honduras and for 4 weeks after leaving Honduras.

We strongly recommend that everyone brings along a supply of charcoal capsules - this works great for travelers diarrhea. The majority of the time you can use the charcoal and don’t have to take any antibiotics - and don’t have any of the bad side effects of the antibiotics. Charcoal capsules can be purchased at health supplement stores and larger drug stores that have a supplement department.

If you take medications on a regular basis, be sure to have a sufficient supply with you - in your carry-on luggage. Getting medications in Honduras is often difficult if not impossible.

Passport: You must have a US passport - if you are a US citizen. If you are coming from a different country, be sure to check with the Honduran Embassy to see if you need a visa. (you do not need a Visa if you are a US citizen) Passports must be “good” for at least 6 months past the date that you plan on leaving Honduras. That means your passport must be good (not expired) until at least the end of September, 2010. Check your passport now!! I would also like you to make a copy of the front page of your passport and send it to me... and, make additional copies of the first page - carry one with you (not with your passport), leave a copy at home and another copy with someone in your office. If you lose your passport in Honduras, getting a replacement is much easier (though still a huge hassle) if you have a copy of, or access to a copy of, your original passport.

CME credits - At this time I am working with the University of Wisconsin CME department for credits for the physicians (and nurses if your board will accept AMA credits). My best guess at the moment is that we will have to charge those that want CMEs between $200 and $250. (CME credits are optional and not included in your fees) At this point, please email me and let me know if you think you would be interested in CMEs at this price.

US Citizens - check out the State Department travel site. Some participants register with the US embassy in Honduras. Check out the website and decide if this is something you would like to do.

Shipping & Donations for Honduras: If you have medical or school supplies that you would like to donate to Honduras, you can ship them to Madison by January 4, 2010 and we will get the supplies in our semi shipment to Honduras. Please, you must get items to Madison by January 4th. Contact Mary (mdoherty@wisc.edu or 608-712-5518) for shipping information and also to see if what you have will be useful in Honduras.

And, if you live in the Madison area - mark your calendars for Shipping Day 2010!! The semi will be loaded - by us - on Saturday, January 16, 2010. Please plan on being at Chet’s Car Care Center warehouse, 2020 Aberg Ave, Madison, WI, by 7:00 AM to help load!! And, between now and then, we need help packing and sorting boxes - contact Mary for work times/days. All friends, relatives, acquaintances and strangers are needed to help!

And, finally - I will be updating this web link periodically.... as we get closer to departure date, updates will be more frequent! As always, please do not hesitate to contact Jeff and Mary with any questions.

Email: mdoherty@wisc.edu jjpatter@wisc.edu

Phone: Mary’s cell - 608-712-5518 Jeff’s cell - 608-206-2101 Land line - 608-256-3983

Fax: 608-256-1893

CME Credits $200.00

Fundamentals of Phlebology, 2nd edition -- $55

UPDATE February 24, 2010

Hope you are all gearing up for the upcoming Honduras Adventure! I have been in contact with many of you regarding travel questions - which is great. Listed below are some suggestions / requests to make the trip easier for all of us.... This sort of seems like a Class Trip with all the things I'll be mentioning - but, please remember, we are a large group and to make this work as smoothly as possible, we have to work together as a team!

This is going to be another one of those messages that you will want to pour a cup of coffee for and get comfortable....

Private Hotel Rooms - The fees that you have paid include a double/shared room with two beds. If you would like to request a private room, please email me ASAP -- and go to the HHH website: www.HackettHemwall.org to pay the extra fee for a private room. Private Rooms are assigned on a first come/first served basis. So, if you want a private room and haven't paid for one yet, do so now! (a few people have requested and paid for a private room and others have emailed and not paid - now is your chance to pay and have a better chance of getting one - if you would like one.) Refunds will be made if I can't get you a private room.

Please mark all of your luggage (carry-on, too) with Orange and Green Surveyor's tape. (tie several pieces of each color on all handles) Surveyor's tape isn't really tape but is inch wide plastic "ribbon" that surveyors use to mark stakes, etc.... it's the same sort of stuff that police use to mark crime scenes!! Don't buy the kind that says "caution" on it - the security guys at the airports will probably not like that!! (You can buy it at Home Depot type stores - at our Home Depot, it is located in the aisle with screw drivers and tape measures - $1.99 a roll) (Madison area people - call me if you want to stop by the house and get some of my tape.) This may sound like an odd thing to ask everyone to do but, it will make life much easier for us all as we arrive in San Pedro Sula!!! There will be about 30 of us meeting in San Pedro Sula and the airport is, at best, chaotic... figure 30 people with two checked bags and one carry-on = 90 pieces of luggage for the group!! If they are all marked with the orange and green surveyors tape, we all can be watching for each other's bags and help keep them in our possession and safe. Another advantage of marking bags, especially your carry-on, is that in airports on your way to Honduras, if you see someone with their carry-on marked with the green and orange tape, you could possibly meet another one of our group before you even get introduced in Honduras.

Other Luggage Details - Over the past year or so, the airlines have been changing their allowances for checked luggage. I recommend that you check with your airline or travel agent so you know what to expect. If you are "overnighting" in Miami, Houston or Atlanta, ask about checking your luggage thru to San Pedro or if you will need to claim it and then re-check it on Saturday morning... and what the costs will be. Some more airline reminders - remember to have your liquids/gels in zip lock bags if they are in your carry-on luggage - otherwise you will have to throw them in the trash at "security". Check out TSA's, or your airline website, for details! Also, I would recommend packing a change of warm weather clothes in your carry-on bag - just in case your suitcase is lost someplace between home and San Pedro Sula. The security people in the San Pedro Sula airport are very picky and strict - so, at the end of the week, when packing to go home, be sure to put anything even remotely sharp (like a tweezers, etc.) in your checked luggage. I have had even a cable computer lock taken by them because they said we could use it to choke someone! Security in the states is bad but on flights from Honduras into the US are even worse.

Clothing - Bring scrubs to wear while working in our clinics!! We would like everyone, including Helpers, to dress like professionals so there is no doubt in anyone's mind that we are all health care professionals while we are working in Honduras! If you don't have access to scrubs, you can purchase inexpensive scrubs at the discount stores like Walmart, Shopko and Target - or on their websites. I don't recommend going to the uniform stores - scrubs will be much more expensive there. There is laundry service available to you, at a very reasonable cost, at the hotels in all three cities. If you drop your dirty clothes off in the morning, you usually get them back in the afternoon - if it is a sunny day! If it's raining, it will take a few days! 2 or 3 sets of scrubs are usually sufficient. Good idea to bring a couple plastic grocery bags along - you can put your dirty laundry in the bag when you drop it off at the hotel front desk.

Internet - there is internet connection ability in all three of our hotels. (Tela, LaCeiba and Olanchito). Remember, if you do bring your computer, you are responsible for it!! Be sure to "back-up" before you leave home, just in case! The hotels also have a computer or two in the lobby for anyone to use (limit 10 minutes per session, please) Also, do not tell your family/office/friends that you will "email them on Tuesday evenings..." If the power is out, the internet doesn't work!! In the past, we've had families really worry when that email didn't come on Tuesday evenings, thinking the worst - not realizing that it's just a power outage in Honduras. Always have a Plan A and Plan B and maybe even a Plan C!

Cell Phones - Your cell phones from the US won't work in Honduras - and if they do, it will be very expensive to call home. Last year a number of our participants just purchased inexpensive cell phones in Honduras. It only costs about 3 Lempira per minute to call the US on these cell phones. (Exchange rate is approx. $1= 19 Lempira) You can receive calls from the US on the phones but it is quite expensive for the caller. If you purchase a phone, you could have your family call your phone and just say "call me back"... I have arranged thru a friend in LaCeiba that sells cell phones to take "orders" for cell phones. We will have them at the hotel in Tela when we arrive. The cost is about $25. It will have about an hour's worth of talk minutes on it - you can easily purchase more minutes very cheaply in all three of our cities. If you would like to order one of these phones, let me know. You will need to pay for it when you get it in Tela. (if you order it, you will need to pay for it - once I order it they will have it set up with a number, etc... so even if you change your mind, you must pay!!) Already a couple of people have decided to share a phone - just an idea. We also have HHF phones in all three clinics - we use these phones for communicating between clinics. They also may be used in an emergency to call the states but we cannot have people calling home regularly on them... for your non-emergency calls, either buy a phone or use an internet phone.

Things to Bring - Sun Screen, Bug repellent, water bottle, comfortable shoes/sandals, long sleeve shirt and pants for the evenings, light jacket or sweatshirt, (it might get as cool as 70 degrees), hat (for sun), more Sun Screen, battery alarm clock, flash light, head lamps are even better, small back pack or day pack to carry your stuff back and forth to the clinic, beach towel if you plan on swimming at hotel, Charcoal capsules - more below on those, your personal medications, sun glasses, Rx glasses/contacts - extra pair is good idea, shorts, capris, t-shirts, casual clothes. There won't be any need for any dressy clothes. Small gifts - you will be meeting and working with some local people that you will find you will want to give something to - small gifts from home are always appreciated - but NOT something you must bring... this is just a suggestion. We typically take Wisconsin Cheese, UW t-shirts, that sort of thing. And, again - a head lamp can be very helpful - both in your hotel room at night or in the clinic if the power is off!!

Charcoal Capsules - We strongly recommend that everyone bring along charcoal capsules - to use in case you get a case of travelers diarrhea. We recommend the charcoal over antibiotics - the charcoal just absorbs the toxins with out the side affects of antibiotics. You can purchase charcoal caps at most larger drug stores or health food/supplement stores. If you get diarrhea, take 4 capsules... continue to take an additional 4 capsules each time you have diarrhea.. usually within a matter of hours, you will be feeling better. If you look in the john, you will think you must be about to die (because the charcoal comes out about the same as it goes in) but trust me, you will feel better!

When you get to San Pedro Sula airport - go thru immigration and customs then claim your luggage. (When filling out the immigration forms on the plane, for "reason for visit" - check "tourist". If you check business or work, then they assume you are getting paid and that is another issue to deal with. You are not being paid!!) Do not "declare" your U/S machine if you are bringing one - you treat it as you would your lap top computer - you are not leaving it in Honduras so you do not declare it!! Look for others in the group - again, by the Orange and Green marking on luggage! Then you will pass thru the final security to get out of the airport baggage claim area (yes, your bags are x-rayed again). They often will require that you show the luggage claim ticket for every bag you have in your possession - save your claim ticket and have it ready for them!!

Proceed thru the doorway - and then go to the right into the main part of the airport (where the airline check-in is, etc.) In that part of the airport, there is a Wendy's fast food restaurant, small stores, coffee shop and rest rooms. The seating area by the Wendy's, is where we want you to go!! We will make a large pile of luggage by the windows (there are not any doors to the outside there so it will be easy to keep track of the luggage). Some of our group will be arriving as early as 11:00 am - look for familiar faces and/or the green and orange "tape" on the luggage! We will be waiting at the airport for all of our flights to come in - until the 3:05 PM flight gets in... then we will be loading everything and everybody up on our rented buses for the trip to Tela. Please stick together!!! Don't wander off - we don't want to accidentally leave you in San Pedro Sula!!! Also, watch your luggage! ... and all other luggage that has our green and orange surveyor's tape on it. Typically, we put all luggage in one area, and then take turns standing watch over it - I'll repeat - take turns watching the luggage!! Each person is responsible for their own luggage but, we want to start functioning like a team and help each other. For those of you that don't know me, I am usually pretty easy to spot - I'll be the crazed looking woman with spreadsheets trying to keep track of everyone and everything!! : >)

As soon as everyone has arrived, cleared customs/immigration and met by the Wendy's, we will load up our buses for the drive to Tela - where we will all spend Saturday night - at Hotel Sherwood.

Also, the yellow piece of paper that they put in your passport at immigration is important!! Make sure you save it - you will need it to get out of the country - they take it from you in the airport as you depart. You will also need to pay a $36 exit fee as you leave Honduras... they do not take credit cards for this fee - you must have either Lempira or US dollars to pay it... plan ahead!! (sorry to be sounding like Mom again!)

Reminder from previous info - Do Not Drink the water, or even rinse off your toothbrush with water in Honduras unless you know it has been purified or is bottled!! Do not eat any food that is not in a restaurant that we take you to - all food that we provide will be "clean" and prepared with purified water. It is OK to eat the food at the Wendy's in the airport or to drink bottled water you purchase.... (you may want to get a snack unless you have been served a big airplane lunch! The first group dinner will be at Tela at the hotel, about 7:00 PM)

Please send me your itinerary if you haven't already - or if you booked your flight someway other than with our travel agent, Brenda... If I know when/how you will be arriving, I'll know how to start looking for you if you don't show up!

Jeff and I will be leaving for Honduras on March 4th - we will spend two weeks with the prolotherapy group before you, the phlebology group, arrives. Feel free to call me before March 5th at 8:00 AM - (when we get on our plane to San Pedro Sula) - on my US cell phone 608-712-5518 with questions. From March 5th onward, you can get in touch with me by calling my Honduras cell phone: 011-504-9839-9303. Jeff's number will be: 011-504-3309-4763 The 011 is the country code, 504 is the area code for all of Honduras and then the cell number - yes, it has 8 digits rather than the 7 we are used to! If you are delayed traveling to Honduras, try to give me a call to let me know where you are so we don't worry about you! We will have internet/email access, too, but of course not as frequently as at home.

And, last for this message - please go to our website and re-read the travel information there... There is a lot of good, important information on the Honduras Vein Travel Info page! www.HackettHemwall.org And, as always, do not hesitate to email or call me if you have additional questions!

Take care... And Safe Travels!

Mary

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I forgot to mention CMEs for the phlebology week. For those of you that are new to the trip, we do not include CMEs in the cost of the trip - since everyone does not want/need the credit. The credits are AMA accredited thru the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. I don't have the final count of credits that we will receive, but I expect it to be approximate 45 hours.

If you would like CMEs, and haven't indicated so - please go to our website and either click on the Pay Pal button for CMEs and pay the $200 that way or, also in the same area, there is information about sending a check to the HHF.

The CME credits include a directed reading section. The reading is from "Fundamentals of Phlebology" 2nd Edition. If you do not have a copy of this publication, you can purchase one from us for $55 (this is a discounted price from the publisher). I will not be taking any of these books to Honduras - if you want one, you need to purchase it now and we will mail it to you. There will be a Pay Pal button on the website for the book, too. Shortly, I will be emailing out to everyone the directed reading quiz. As will be boldly noted on the front of the packet - you need to print the document off before you leave home, and bring it along with you to Honduras!!! You will need to successfully complete the quiz to receive the CME credits for the directed reading portion of the CMEs. You could start working/reading it before you leave home - and/or work on it with others in the group while you are in Honduras.

You will need to turn in to me, at the end of the Honduras week, your completed quiz, an attendance verification form and we would appreciate it if you would complete a course evaluation form... the UW will mail out CME credit letters to everyone about 4 weeks after we return from Honduras.

Questions on this - let me know.

Take care,

Mary