Global Healing

By Ginny A. Roth ~

Volunteer Medical School student Clinton Keilman administers oral medication to children for parasitic infestation while on mission in Honduras in 1999. Currently, Dr. Keilman, M.D., is a board certified emergency medicine physician.
Mercy Corps International, Honduras. 1999. Patricia M. Gallinek.

“I have always been drawn to people and have sought to see them compassionately and with understanding through the lens of my eyes, my heart and soul as well as the lens of my camera.”

– Patricia Gallinek

Serving in many roles such as caregiver, decision maker, patient advocate, and teacher, nurses are pivotal players in the healthcare profession. Patricia Gallinek, RN, took her duties a step further, deeply immersing herself into the lives of hundreds of men, women, and children in need of healthcare and compassion. Ms. Gallinek has always had a love for photography and through it she found a way to enrich her life, and those of others.

In 1990, after retiring from 30 years in the nursing profession, Ms. Gallinek returned to college to study photojournalism, documentary photography, and communications. Her goal was clear; it was her calling to document healthcare around the world on film and, in her own words, “bring awareness to the heart-wrenching healthcare problems and those extraordinary volunteers whose selfless devotion relieves suffering and improves medical care around our world.”

Born through her love of photography and the most genuine concern for humankind, she embarked on a new vocation to volunteer as a photographer for organizations involved in international healthcare. Despite language barriers, rough terrain, and challenging climates, and even through intensely emotional scenes of despair, her images thoughtfully and respectfully evoke the sense of humanity, perseverance, and friendship that she found in the communities she visited.

Ms. Gallinek has generously donated to the National Library of Medicine over 500 photographs that she herself printed from her journeys around the globe, each carefully described and documented when the photograph was made. Below is a small selection of images from the collection.

All smiles today, a young boy arrives at dental clinic for consultation. “Our main goal here at Maniilaq is education, to let the Native population know that because their diet has been altered radically in the past 100 years, they now have to radically alter their dental hygiene habits. Dental caries (cavities) are rampant here,” says Daniel Long, D.D.S. Manillaq Health Center-Kotzebue, Norwest Alaska, USA. 2004.

Following reconstructive surgery for a cleft lip performed by Esperança volunteer Dr. John Gibney, a little boy and his mother rest in their clinic hammock. The little boy studies his face in the mirror. His mother looks on with pride, relief, and happiness. Brazil. 1998.

In 2001 Mae Tao Clinic inaugurated a prosthetics fabrication facility for landmine victims and other amputees. The goals of the prosthetics clinic are to provide free surgical care, prosthetic devices, and rehabilitation for landmine survivors and other amputees. This trained graduate works in Mae Tao Clinic’s prosthetics facility. Border of Burma. 2004.

This forlorn mother and child are part of an endless line of people in Ilam, Nepal, waiting patiently, pain in their eyes, and their feet sore and bleeding from walking for days on rocky roads. They are waiting to see a physician, nurse, dentist, or hygienist. The organization that gathers these caregivers to meet the needs of the sick and struggling in Nepal is Helping Hands Health Education in Boulder, Colorado. 1994.

An anesthesiologist monitors a patient moments before knee surgery. Health Volunteers Overseas, Black Lion Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 1995.

A teacher and student at the Dorton House School for the Blind, United Kingdom. 2003.

Dr. Reena Sethi, wife of Dr. Arun Sethi and volunteer eye surgeon performs cataract surgery and intra-ocular lens implantation on a 50 year old patient. “We welcome more volunteers,” Dr. Sethi says. Eye Care Project, India. 1997.

Looking away as Delek Hospital staff nurse gives immunization to one month old infant in the out-patient clinic at Delek Hospital. Tibetans Living in Exile, Dharamsalla, India. 2002.

Ms. Gallinek was the recipient of the Elizabeth Lobkowicz Photography Award for Academic Honors in the Arts and Humanities, presented by the faculty and administrators of Mt. Vernon College in Washington, DC. Ms. Gallinek also received the International Civil Golden Award by the Distinguished Civil Forum of Nepal for her outstanding contribution in the field of photography. Her photo essays for HealthCare Traveler can be found at https://web.archive.org/web/20150429003952/http://healthcaretraveler.modernmedicine.com/authorDetails/19461.

To learn more about donating to NLM please visit our Donations to the National Library of Medicine page.

Ginny A. Roth is the Curator of Prints & Photographs in the History of Medicine Division at the National Library of Medicine.

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