Friday May 21 - The mental hospital

Friday May 19, 2010
The mental hospital.
Today we are going to the mental hospital that serves all of Loreto province, the largest province in all of Peru. I have been there many times and I never know what to expect. The buildings are old and some of the patients are confined in rooms for 8-10 or in single cells with bars. Some are locked and in some roam free around the compound. There are usually 40-50 patients many of whom have been confined here for years because they have nowhere to go and their families have given up on them. Others are confined here because they have been found criminally insane. Conditions at the hospital vary depending on who is in power. Four years ago the hospital was in fairly terrible shape with dogs roaming about and prowling under the outdoor tables where chickens were cut up under conditions of poor sanitation and food was prepared with help from the patients who seldom washed. The pond where fish were raised to feed the patients was full of algae and the garden overgrown with weeds. Patients were wearing dirty torn clothes and many looked like they had not bathed in many weeks. The only meds available were those used in the US in the 1970s and sometimes even these were not available regularly. Three years ago things were much improved the fish pond was clean and productive, the garden was producing, and the cooking facilities and methods more sanitary but certainly not up to US standards. The patient rooms were still barren and patients were sleeping on thin bare mattress and had few clothes. However the treatment regime was improved with more meds available and even a visiting psychiatrist once a week to monitor care and psychology students doing practicums providing some therapy. What will it be like this year?
We have planned to do some activities with the patients but we aren’t sure how it will all go we have all learned to sing three songs in Spanish – Bienvenidos Iquitos (Welcome to Iquitos), Que Sera (What will be), and … Our translators have their guitars and Paul is bringing the sound system and CDs so the patients can sing and dance. We have brought personal care items like soap, toothbrushes, shampoo and lotion as well as nail polish, manicure supplies and students who know how to do foot care and massage. We have also asked the Hamburguesa lady to cook for the patients, the staff and us. Paul is paying for the students and translators and the grant from WSU students for students is paying for the food for the patients and staff. Thank you so much.
When we arrived at the hospital we were met by several patients many of whom know me. Lupe, a sweet woman who is unable to speak but is not mute latched onto me at once as she has every time I have come. One of the other patients started singing to us – he really has a good voice and certainly knows the songs he is singing even if I don’t. We were met by staff wearing uniforms who seem very competent and as we walk through the facility it is clear some things have changed for the better. The patient rooms are less barren, more people look clean and cared for and there are only a few dogs roaming about. There are also fewer patients. We are informed that things are changing in a big way that may not necessarily be good. They are planning to close the facility and move the patients to group homes throughout Iquitos. Those who are incarcerated as dangerous or criminally insane will be moved to the prison. Paul says he thinks this move was made in part because the facility has received so much criticism from foreign groups. He and I fear that moving the patients to group homes will make the mentally ill invisible and that the care they get will actually be less and may be worse because there will likely be little or no monitoring. In addition meds may not be available or may get diverted. Professional care will likely be absent. Also many of these patients have lived here for many years and moving them may precipitate exacerbation of symptoms. Those who were incarcerated as criminally insane will likely receive little or no care at the prison and may actually be killed by other inmates because some of them are very vulnerable. We shall see what happens.
Meanwhile the “day” room (a big room with a concrete floor and some plastic chairs) was set up and the patients who are not confined were invited to come and sit down. The PA system was set up and the guitars were ned. The students and translators sang the three songs and many patients and staff joined in. Then our singing patient sang two songs for us. Students and patients are scattered all over the room well integrated despite initial hesitance on the part of both students and some patients. Patients were were invited to dance, to come and have their nails done or to get a massage. Then the speakers were cranked up. (Sue was worried that the patients who were confined might feel left out but I am sure they can hear the music better than people in the day room.) The students and the patients danced and danced while David our man of all work extraordinaire acted as a fabulous DJ. I couldn’t take the noise so I helped with a few pedicures and saw to the food. I also talked to a couple of patients in my broken ungrammatical Spanish. The person who really pulled at my heart strings was a young man of 34 who was locked in a single cell. He had been a policeman and had accidentally killed his father while cleaning his gun. He had then apparently gone completely psychotic and may have hurt others ( I am not sure about this) he just kept telling me in Spanish “I am a patricide, I am a patricide”. I felt so sad.
The patients who were confined were served first by some of the students. Most of the Peruvians didn’t want the hamburguesas – they wanted Chuafa which the woman had also prepared in large quantities. Chaufa is fried rice with deep fried chicken and French fries potatoes – it is really good especially with hot sauce. Once the confined patients were fed we fed all the other patients in the dining room and gave them personal care supplies. Then we all ate, mostly hamburguesas except the translators and a few students who ate chaufa. We fed 70 people and provided polish and nail care supplies for about 300 soles (that would be about $106.00). When we left at 2PM the patients and staff were happier than they had been in a long time. The students were satisfied that they had done some really good work and the patients felt cared about. What more could one ask for than food for body and soul and what better way than music and dancing especially for Peruvians. Paul also commented on his appreciation of the “heart” students brought to this event and many students have described this as their favorite day in Iquitos. Gracias otra vez a WSU estudiantes por estudiantes! You made a big difference here and there is more to come.
If you would like to see pictures of the dancing go to PEOPLE OF PERU web site where Paul has downloaded pictures and may download a video of the dancing .
Tomorrow we are off to the jungle.