Construction Forum Takes It to the Mountaintops
Tax deductible
In the five year history of Construction Forum STL’s history our journey has taken some twists and turns that were pretty far afield from what I originally imagined when I conceived it back in 2010. We’ve gone from workforce recruiting in Normandy to building a soccer field for immigrant/refugee kids in the City and our current efforts on regionalism education.
Next month, we take the furthest leap yet — to the Andes mountains of Peru near Machu Picchu. The Construction Forum Education Foundation will field a team of four to begin the process of updating a hospital with primitive facilities. This will include the labor and delivery area, emergency department, and standby power. We are raising funds on GoFundMe to help with this initial effort, which will probably play out over the next year or so.
On our team will be:
Dr. John Gaal, recently retired director of workforce and education for the St. Louis-Kansas City Carpenters Regional Council (and a longtime friend of mine);
Jerry Dahl, a mechanical engineer (and another longtime friend), who has worked in a variety of extremely technical areas and is now a forensic engineer with Nederveld out of Grand Rapids, MI;
Dan Wolfington, an electrical engineer and husband to Eileen Wolfington of Kingdom House who will be a translator on this trip; and
Tom Finan, executive director, Construction Forum STL and Construction Forum Education Foundation.
By way of explanation, we’re making the trip at the instigation of Tom Finan's wife, Dr. Kathi Thimsen, an assistant professor of community nursing at BJC Goldfarb School of Nursing. Last year Kathi formed Nurses2Peru .
In April 2018, Nurses2Peru took a team of 25 nurses, nurse practitioners, nursing students, and a couple of helpers to the Andes.
Over 600 people received treatment at four sites during a week there. Over 200 girls received "Days to Girls" reusable menstrual kits, as well sex education. Base assessments were taken for work on malnutrition and growth stunting.
The team from the St. Louis Region worked side-by-side with the team from the tiny hospital in the town of Maras. The hospital had only two stethoscopes. lab equipment from the '60s, only one baby warmer and no incubators (and spotty power) for its labor and delivery.
"Wheelchair" at Maras Hospital
A trusting relationship was formed between N2P and Dr. Victor, the hospital director and his team. Last December a team from N2P traveled to Maras and conducted classes in basic sanitation— hand washing with the aim of lowering the hospital's 53% patient infection rate. Relationships have also been forged with the Peruvian national health authorities and universities.
In December 2018 Kathi told Dr. Victor N2P would begin the work on upgrades of the labor and delivery and emergency department, and in securing a backup generator. Our team will assess the situation and work with local people to begin preliminary site prep.
As previously stated Construction Forum STL has been an amazing journey over the past five years. Please join us as we take the heart of St. Louis Region people to the top of the world.
Next month, we take the furthest leap yet — to the Andes mountains of Peru near Machu Picchu. The Construction Forum Education Foundation will field a team of four to begin the process of updating a hospital with primitive facilities. This will include the labor and delivery area, emergency department, and standby power. We are raising funds on GoFundMe to help with this initial effort, which will probably play out over the next year or so.
On our team will be:
Dr. John Gaal, recently retired director of workforce and education for the St. Louis-Kansas City Carpenters Regional Council (and a longtime friend of mine);
Jerry Dahl, a mechanical engineer (and another longtime friend), who has worked in a variety of extremely technical areas and is now a forensic engineer with Nederveld out of Grand Rapids, MI;
Dan Wolfington, an electrical engineer and husband to Eileen Wolfington of Kingdom House who will be a translator on this trip; and
Tom Finan, executive director, Construction Forum STL and Construction Forum Education Foundation.
By way of explanation, we’re making the trip at the instigation of Tom Finan's wife, Dr. Kathi Thimsen, an assistant professor of community nursing at BJC Goldfarb School of Nursing. Last year Kathi formed Nurses2Peru .
In April 2018, Nurses2Peru took a team of 25 nurses, nurse practitioners, nursing students, and a couple of helpers to the Andes.
Over 600 people received treatment at four sites during a week there. Over 200 girls received "Days to Girls" reusable menstrual kits, as well sex education. Base assessments were taken for work on malnutrition and growth stunting.
The team from the St. Louis Region worked side-by-side with the team from the tiny hospital in the town of Maras. The hospital had only two stethoscopes. lab equipment from the '60s, only one baby warmer and no incubators (and spotty power) for its labor and delivery.
"Wheelchair" at Maras HospitalA trusting relationship was formed between N2P and Dr. Victor, the hospital director and his team. Last December a team from N2P traveled to Maras and conducted classes in basic sanitation— hand washing with the aim of lowering the hospital's 53% patient infection rate. Relationships have also been forged with the Peruvian national health authorities and universities.
In December 2018 Kathi told Dr. Victor N2P would begin the work on upgrades of the labor and delivery and emergency department, and in securing a backup generator. Our team will assess the situation and work with local people to begin preliminary site prep.
As previously stated Construction Forum STL has been an amazing journey over the past five years. Please join us as we take the heart of St. Louis Region people to the top of the world.
Organizer
Thomas Finan
Organizer
St Louis, MO
Construction Forum Education Foundation
Registered nonprofit
Donations are typically 100% tax deductible in the US.
