A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
Dr. David Luehr works with a mother of new born twins.
Dana Luehr works with children on proper dental care.
Dr. David Luehr worked at a clinic in Tanzania, seeing a variety of patients over a month last fall.
Dr. David Luehr, a retired Raiter Clinic physician and Community Memorial Hospital hospitalist, spent a month in the West African nation of Tanzania last fall. He volunteered his time at the Dodoma Christian Medical Center, where each of the 50 hospital beds has mosquito netting that drops down at night to protect the 10 patients being cared for in each room.
Luehr's days included mentoring young physicians, working in internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics, and even performing an emergency C-section. He also lectured on quality improvement issues and warned of the overuse of antibiotics, and spent time in the medical center's clinic, which sees 200 patients a day.
"I felt very privileged to be able to help someone from another culture," Luehr said as he reflected on his recent trip.
Luehr's wife, Dana, who has a doctorate in education, spent her time working with community health and nutrition specialists promoting breastfeeding, proper nutrition and even assisting dentists as they provided free dental care to the residents. One of her tasks was to teach children the correct way to brush their teeth.
Luehr is very hopeful for the future of health care in this African country, citing the fact that this medical center is rated No. 2 in the nation and brings a new level of care to Tanzania.
He calls his recent trip "a life enriching experience."
