“Bridge for Peace” takes healing to Linden through surgical Mission

Lindeners are presently benefiting from medical services offered by the Raphael Medical

Raphael Medical Missions and Bridge the Gap team members along with staff of the Linden Hospital Complex
Raphael Medical Missions and Bridge the Gap team members along with staff of the Linden Hospital Complex

Missions, the medical arm of Bridge for Peace, a Christian international organisation with the motto of providing “Healing to the nations through Jesus Christ”.
The team, which consists of four doctors and four nurses, is presently providing free surgical and other medical services at the Linden Hospital Complex (LHC); it is the team’s first visit to the community. The organisation is in Guyana for the third time and commenced its services in Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) on Monday and will continue until Friday.
Members include doctors in the areas of anaesthesia; ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialists; obstetrics/gynaecology (OB/GYN), pre-op and post-op services; as well as internal medicine, among others.
Speaking with Guyana Times on Monday, Medical Doctor and Founder of Raphael Medical Missions, Dr Scott Silverberg, related that the organisation is a Christian Ministry which focuses on the physical, spiritual and emotional healing for patients by ministering to them in times of need.
He emphasised that there are limitations as to what medical science can do, therefore, apart from the physical aspect, supernatural help is also sought through prayers. In relation to the services offered at the hospital, he disclosed that at least one hysterectomy was already performed and another was scheduled for the same day – those patients were seen at Monday’s clinic; in addition to three more surgeries which were scheduled for Tuesday. “We’ll see patients as they come in and then we’ll operate on the ones that we’re able to do with the surgeons that we have…,” he said.
Dr Silverberg explained that while the Linden Hospital is well equipped, the team also brought along donations obtained through fundraisers in the US. However, he said most of the items brought are already available at the hospital. Rather than have them discarded, Dr Silverberg said they will be used to restock the hospital.
“Of the hospitals that we’ve been to on missions, this hospital is one of the best equipped hospitals we’ve ever been to,” he stated, while adding, “We will be travelling to the hospitals, the different units to see what’s missing, what equipment it doesn’t have and what we can (provide) on our next trip. Instead of bringing more disposable equipment, we can bring something that would stay and be advantageous to the doctors and nurses here. That’s what we would like to do for our next trip, besides providing services to the people,” he stated.
He said too that the team recognised the shortage of ENT specialists in Guyana and thought it would be best to make the service available through the outreach, while he added that they are also hoping to return on a regular basis in an effort to build a relationship with the people.
Another mission member, Doctor Candace Cummings, who is a Guyanese by birth, said she has been with the organisation for the past nine years assisting the team with pre-op evaluations.
Additionally, Dr Cummings is also assisting with post-op, in cases where there might be patients with medical complications, in addition to participating in a medical clinic.
Dr Cummings said, as a Guyanese she thought it would be a great idea for the team to conduct a surgical mission here.
“We’ve gone to Zambia, Africa; we’ve done many missions there, but one of the things that I’ve said to them is that I wanted them to come to Guyana. So two years ago, I did that first mission and I brought in a couple of people… to do some medical relief work and we did that along the East Bank of Demerara. One of the things that we wanted to do was to bring a surgical team because we do have a team of surgeons who are a part of this Bridge for Peace Ministry. So this year we decided to do surgery… the Ministry of Health said yes, there’s an area where there’s a need here in Linden, and so that’s how this got started…,” she explained.
Meanwhile, ENT surgeon, Dr Kevin Braat, who is here for the third time, noted that through the Public Health Ministry, the team arranged to come to Linden to establish a relationship with the people to undertake similar initiatives. The aim, he said, is to find out what the needs of the community are and see what assistance can be provided.
Dr Braat revealed that services for patients with hearing loss is a challenge faced by the country. He shared his interest in assisting with hearing aid services, which would be explored through the Public Health Ministry.
Also working in collaboration with the team are members of Bridge the Gap organisation, which consists of Social Worker Ismay Griffith and facilitator Jocelyn Wilson. The team will be conducting talks on suicide and abuse.
Bridge for Peace is a worldwide organisation based in several countries namely, the United States, Brazil, Uganda and Australia. Raphael Medical Missions aims at providing services through surgical missions, clinics and training.