CHRISTUS Health team heading to Honduras on mission trip

CHRISTUS Health’s mission of extending the healing ministry of Jesus Christ will extend to Honduras as a team from CHRISTUS Highland Medical Center heads there this week on a surgical mission trip.

The team, led by Dr. James Barnes, general/bariatric surgeon and chief of staff at CHRISTUS Highland Medical Center, will leave Thursday for the nine-day trip.

In addition to Barnes, the group includes RNs Pam Clapp and Vickie Colvin and certified scrub tech Atalyn Nix.

“I’m bringing my operating team from Highland down there,” Barnes said. “It’s my regular team that I have in my room every day, which makes a huge difference. They can get everything set up and organized the way we like to do things.”

Barnes said the group will be stationed at a large compound that includes a church and a small clinic/hospital in the town of Guaimaca.

“We can do laparoscopic surgery there,” he said. “It’s going to be mostly general surgery that will include gallbladders and hernias.”

All patients will be seen the first day.

“Usually it’s about 20-25 patients,” Barnes said. “So, we’ll see them on the first day and figure out what we’re doing and talk to the patient about what’s happening.”

Following the patient meetings, Barnes said the surgeries will take place within the next four or five days.

“We make out our surgery schedule and then they come back in for their surgery. Most of them go home the same day,” he said. “They’re just so grateful and appreciative to get some relief.”