Over 600 people in Puerto Lopez benefit from GeoPark – Colombian civil air patrol medical brigade

GeoPark partnered with the Colombian Civil Air Patrol (PAC) in organizing a medical-surgical brigade in Puerto Lopez for the second time, when in coordination with the local Mayor’s Office and hospital 50 health professionals attended more than 600 people.

The brigade allowed people to have specialized and free of charge medical consultations in areas such as dermatology, gynecology, optometry, pediatrics and ultrasound. Gynecologic and ophthalmologic surgery was also offered, as well as general surgery and family planning.

The brigade performed 700 medical consultations and procedures, made up of 565 specialist consultations, 80 operations, and 50 applications of four-year contraceptive implants.

“Last year I received surgery for the cataracts in my left eye and this year when we knew the medical brigade was returning, we signed up immediately because I had been waiting for the same surgery on my right eye for eight months,” said local resident Jorge Angel Quintero. “Thanks to the brigade I didn’t have to travel to Villavicencio, and in two days they fixed my eyesight,” he said.

“We’re proud to continue promoting high-impact initiatives that improve the living conditions of our neighbors in rural areas by helping them access specialist health services and overcoming the challenges of time and distance,” GeoPark Nature and Neighbors Manager Anibal Fernandez de Soto said. “We thank the Puerto Lopez Mayor’s Office for their support for this brigade and its team, the Puerto Lopez hospital, and our partner the Colombian Civil Air Patrol for bringing talent and vocation on board to support the well-being of ever more people.”

“We consolidated our mission to bring the hospital to the people, and we were excited to return to Puerto Lopez with GeoPark,” Colombian Civil Air Patrol general director Pamela Estrada said. “Within our partnership we have carried out 15 health brigades since 2017, improving the quality of life of nearly 10,000 people with more than 22,000 interactions, including 10,600 specialist medical consultations and 1,276 operations.”

The brigades reaffirm the power of coordination between private enterprise, municipal administration and non-governmental organizations to benefit communities. “As strategic partners, the Municipal Mayor’s Office of Puerto Lopez, the Puerto Lopez hospital, GeoPark and the Colombian Civil Air Patrol work together closely to make a big difference to our people’s well-being. This shared initiative underscores the importance of the public-private partnership, where each of us contributes to significantly improve the quality of life of our community. This is what Puerto Lopez needs. Thank you to municipal officials for their valuable management, thank you GeoPark and thank you Colombian Civil Area Patrol,” Puerto Lopez Mayor Pedro Velandia Bejarano said.

GeoPark firmly believes in supporting the health and well-being of the people of Puerto Lopez, and thanks to the development of its operation in the municipality it will continue to support social investment projects that change lives for the better.

ABOUT GEOPARK

GeoPark is a leading Latin American oil and gas exploration and production company with assets in Colombia, Argentina, Ecuador and Brazil, and has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 2014. It is Colombia’s second largest oil producer with close to 8% of total national production. Since it was founded, GeoPark has had an Integrated Value System called SPEED, which summarizes the Company’s commitment in five critical areas: Safety, Prosperity, Employees, Environment and Community Development. SPEED has been GeoPark’s key to attracting the best talent, being the preferred partner, the best neighbor and developing a successful, safe and sustainable operation.

For more information: conexiones@geo-park.com

ABOUT THE COLOMBIAN CIVIL AIR PATROL

The Colombian Civil Air Patrol (PAC) is a private, non-profit organization that has 58 years of experience in providing free medical, surgical, medical-humanitarian and emergency care for populations in conditions of poverty, extreme poverty, social or geographical exclusion, or that have been victims of a catastrophe. The organization’s health model is unique in Colombia and the region through combining humanitarian aviation with medical volunteering. The Air Patrol carries out an average of 20 medical brigades a year, benefiting more than 15,700 people, performing more than 500 surgical procedures and more than 16,000 specialized medical procedures. It provides the medicines that each patient needs, as well as bespoke glasses for ophthalmology patients.

For more information: www.patrullaaerea.org