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Community Corner

Chesterfield Nurse Travels to Guatemala To Help Poor

For 10 years, Carla Moore Beckerle has traveled to Central America to proved health care to the needy.

This week, Patch introduces you to Carla Moore Beckerle, an advanced registered nurse who recently traveled to Guatemala to provide medical services to residents who have limited or no access to health care.

In poor villages throughout Central America, residents sometimes live in squalid conditions. Their existence is day-to-day, and any hope of health care is a distant dream. Chesterfield resident Carla Moore Beckerle is working hard to change that, and she's putting her money where her mouth is.

For 10 years, Beckerle has traveled to poor areas in Central America—mostly Guatemala—with nine other health care workers to provide residents with services, including treating hypertension and parasite infestations, identifying patients with diabetes and providing care for pregnant women.The trips and clinics are provided through Christian Children's Concern Society (CCCS).

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“We've been going together for over 10 years,” Beckerle said. “It's a very cohesive group.”

Four of the health care givers are with Esse Health, the St. Louis area's largest independent physician's group, which owned and operated by doctors. Beckerle is Esse Health's head of program development, though she still makes time to work with patients one day per week. The other three individuals with Esse Health are Dr. Joyce Boehmer and Dr. Catherine Remus of University City, and Patti Sprich of St. Louis city.

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“It's a very progressive company, in my opinion,” Beckerle said. “They provide health care providers with the technology that they need. We get it done. Our slogan is 'We want you well,' and it's not a hollow statement—it's a reality.”

In 2010, Beckerle was nameda  Health Care Hero by the St. Louis Business Journal. Although she works both locally and nationally, her nomination was for her work in other countries, which requires her to travel to rural areas—sometimes in the mountains, sometimes in impoverished villages—where she and the group stay in hostels.

“The people are usually very poor,” Beckerle said. “We have given care to people who live in trash dumps. There are many orphans and homeless children. The infrastructure in these areas is nil.”

Beckerle has had her share of heartbreaking experiences, but she finds many inspiring stories as well. “Once in Africa, we were told we were going to a wedding anniversary by the leaders of the village,” Beckerle said. “We rode on the bus to the church, and when they opened the doors, the most beautiful cacophony of music filled the air. They shared this moment with us.”

One residual benefit this year was establishing a relationship with a native Guatemalan physician, which will allow the team to send him medications and supplies so he can continue to serve these residents, giving the trip a local continuity, Beckerle said. The group plans to return next year with the addition of a dentist, which the villagers greatly need.

“People are really good,” Beckerle said. “They want to share their joy. We just need to be there.”

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