Newsletter

May 2023 Newsletter – Announcing New Partnership with Refugee Health Alliance in Reynosa, MX

Over the last few years, GRM has made a significant impact in Reynosa, Mexico, providing critical medical services to marginalized populations. We have been working together and collaborating with Refugee Health Alliance (RHA), an organization dedicated to serving marginalized and displaced individuals on the U.S.-Mexico border, since 2021. Together, we share a common mission of providing holistic, trauma-informed care and advocating for the well-being of vulnerable populations.

GRM and RHA have been working tirelessly to provide critical medical services to underserved populations on the U.S.-Mexico border in different regions. We are excited to announce a partnership between our organizations to ensure continued access to this critical care in Reynosa. In June 2023, RHA will become the primary organization facilitating the clinics in Reynosa, with GRM moving to a support role. GRM is proud to have worked alongside RHA in pursuit of our shared mission, and we look forward to supporting them as they continue to make a difference in the lives of those they serve.

As we transition our work with RHA, we reflect on our accomplishments, including serving over 23,000 patients, administering more than 40,600 COVID-19 tests, and utilizing over 11,800 donated volunteer hours of medical expertise since 2022. We are proud of our work in Reynosa, and we are excited to see RHA build on our successes.

To learn more about RHA, visit their website at https://www.refugeehealthalliance.org/ and consider adding them to your list of supported non-profits.

You can also help further the GRM mission, which continues around the world in Ukraine, Iraq, and Kurdistan, by starting a Facebook fundraiser in GRM’s honor, setting up a recurring donation, or spreading the word by sharing our social media posts on Facebook and Instagram.

Newsletter

April 2023 Newsletter – GRM at SDSU “Race and the Borderlands” Conference

This month, the GRM team was invited to present at the binational conference “Race and the Borderlands” hosted by San Diego State University. This conference brings together scholars, practitioners, student organizations, and grassroots movements to collectively consider issues of human rights and racialization in the borderlands. The conference focuses on scholarly collaboration, community building, and the movement of ideas and people in the region. “Race and the Borderlands” offers an opportunity to convene key organizations and thinkers, integrate frameworks for collective action, and launch new collaborations.

Brendon Tucker, GRM’s Reynosa Project Manager, is presenting the “Health Interventions: A Novel Collaboration to Support the Health of Children Asylum Seekers” Panel, alongside Felicia Rangel Samponaro (co-director, Sidewalk School), Victor Cavazos (co-director, Sidewalk School), and Dr. Jyothi Marbin. Brendon will discuss the medical needs of asylum seekers in Reynosa, the safety challenges faced by the GRM medical team and asylum seekers themselves, and the collaboration and partnership between GRM and the Sidewalk School. We’re so proud of Tucker for representing GRM on the academic stage and speaking out about the continued dire need for medical care on the U.S. / Mexico border!

For this month’s newsletter, we want to take the opportunity to raise awareness about a critical issue affecting millions of people worldwide – global borders and the hardships that displaced people face when crossing them.

By the end of 2021, 89.3 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced due to conflict, disaster, violence, persecution, and human rights violations. This staggering number represents the highest level of displacement on record, and it is a humanitarian crisis that demands our attention. Forced migration is fraught with danger, and often means going without consistent and safe shelter, food, water, or medical attention for months or even years at a time. For many, displacement means serious injury, or even death. According to the UNHCR, the number of forcibly displaced or stateless people is expected to increase to 117.2 million in 2023. This problem is not going away anytime soon, and it’s up to us to act.

We must continue to work together to create a world where everyone has the right to health, wellness, and medical care access, regardless of their background, race, religion, or nationality. The Global Response Medicine team believes that health care is a human right, and we stand in solidarity with displaced communities around the world.

We urge you to join us in supporting their cause. To make a meaningful impact and support those in need, please consider visiting our website and making a donation today. Every contribution, no matter how big or small, will help provide vital medical assistance to displaced people, in the borderlands, and across the globe. Your donation can make a real difference in someone’s life.

You can also help further the GRM mission by starting a Facebook fundraiser in GRM’s honor, setting up a recurring donation, or spreading the word by sharing our social media posts on Facebook and Instagram.

Newsletter

March 2023 Newsletter – Tapachula Clinic Closure

When GRM opened our Tapachula Clinic in 2021, an estimated 60,000 people were stranded in Southern Mexico waiting for permission to either resettle or move through the country. Working with local partners and NGOs, Team Tapachula quickly became a major provider of care for those living in the shadows. The need hasn’t disappeared, but support for refugee aid in the region has sharply decreased.

As such, GRM made the difficult decision to end our Tapachula clinical program. In just 22 months, Team Tapachula treated over 22,000 people in limbo at the border of Mexico and Guatemala, both in our stationary clinic, through mobile clinics, and by responding to crises.

Here are some of the major highlights of Team Tapachula’s work since it began in 2021:

  • 5,751 migratory caravan patients treated.
  • 3,000 patients treated at El Estadio Olímpico de Tapachula.
  • 13,691 clinic patient consults.
  • 1,770 OB/GYN patient consults.
  • 293 specialty referrals for medically complex cases.

We are immensely proud of and grateful to everyone who has been a part of our Tapachula family and contributed to changing the lives of more than 22,000 patients over the last 22 months.  This extraordinary work could not have happened without the efforts of Team Tapachula – Project Manager Laura Bonitez, Dr. Gabriela Ramos, Dr. Dielly Gonzalez, Dr. Gerardo Josue Cabrera Becerril, RN Nancy Escalate, and RN Zabdi Alonso. We would also like to recognize the work of other partners who continue to provide support and resources in the area – JSR (Servicio Jesuita Para Refugiados), Una Mano Amiga en la lucha contra el SIDA A.C., Save the Children, Médicos del Mundo, Médecins Sans Frontières, OIM, ACNUR, and the Tapachula City Government.

Although our Tapachula Clinic is now closed, our work around the world is still very much necessary and ongoing. You can help continue the GRM mission by starting a Facebook fundraiser in GRM’s honor, setting up a recurring donation, or spreading the word by sharing our social media posts on Facebook and Instagram.

Newsletter

March 2023 Newsletter – The Ripple Effect

What began as two men wanting to serve others in January 2017 when GRM was founded, turned into helping over 150,000 people around the world. It’s difficult to measure the ultimate impact of helping one person. But studies show that performing an act of kindness inspires the person being helped to continue those acts with kindness other people. A ripple effect has been created that can never be stopped.

We can measure the impact that both Pete Reed and Derek Coleman had after they founded GRM back in January 2017. And while it may be impossible to measure the impact that those 150,000 people who have been served by GRM, we know that the world is a better place as a result. That ripple continues to expand and grow and we are forever grateful.

These are just a few of the many projects GRM has led since its inception:

  • 2017: 10,000 patients, 200 medics trained in Mosul, Iraq.
  • 2019: Medical Humanitarian Assessment for 20,000 people displaced in Yemen.
  • 2019 – Present: 50,000 patient contacts in Mexico.
  • 2021: 2,000 Afghan evacuees receiving medical aid in Philadelphia, USA.
  • 2021: 200 patients plus teaching for 35 nurses and clinicians in Sierra Leone.
  • 2022: 724 surgeries, 79 medevac transports, 1,800 clinicians trained, $350K in equip donated in Ukraine.

You can keep this ripple effect momentum going by starting a Facebook fundraiser in GRM’s honor, setting up a recurring donation, or spreading the word by sharing our social media posts on Facebook and Instagram!

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Yesterday, GRM founder Pete Reed and was killed in Bakhmut, Ukraine.

Yesterday, GRM founder Pete Reed was killed in Bakhmut, Ukraine. Pete was the bedrock of GRM, serving as Board President for 4 years. In January, Pete stepped away from GRM to work with Global Outreach Doctors on their Ukraine mission and was killed while rendering aid.

This is a stark reminder of the perils rescue and aid workers face in conflict zones as they serve citizens caught in the crossfire. Pete was just 33 years old, but lived a life in service of others, first as a decorated US Marine and then in humanitarian aid. GRM will strive to honor his legacy and the selfless service he practiced.

We fully support Pete’s family, friends, and colleagues during this devastating time.