Spotlight on Volunteers: Patricia Mendez

by Janie Albright Blank

Many of you have heard of the Cleft Palate Surgery Program that has been helping children in Puerto Vallarta for almost 20 years and is supported entirely by the International Friendship Club (IFC) and the money it raises through membership and their Home Tours. Doctors come from Guadalajara four times each year to provide life-changing surgeries for the almost 200 afflicted children in the Puerto Vallarta area.

These children will receive surgeries to close the lip and palate, reconstruction and plastic surgeries, dental and orthodontia work and ongoing speech therapy. As some “graduate” from the program, others continue to be born with this defect. The need does not end.

Now I would like to introduce you to the person who makes it all happen! Her name Is Patricia Mendez and she has been involved with the Cleft Palate Program since 1996. As Patricia tells the story, Polly Vicars, a well-known and tireless worker for the good of Vallarta, invited Patricia to a potluck.

There she met Carmen Del Torres and the next thing she knew she was the Hospitality Chair for the IFC! That led to the Cleft Palate Program and here she is 15 years later still organizing and making all of the complicated arrangements that make this program run like clockwork.

Patricia works with the Regional Hospital, who donates surgery suites, and Dr. Ezquiel Fuentes in Guadalajara, who brings his team of doctors and nurses to Vallarta, to coordinate the dates. Once the program dates are set arrangements must be made to get the medical team to PV and housed and fed.

Then all of the patients must be contacted and clinic appointments and surgeries scheduled.

Medical and surgery supplies must be obtained and volunteers coordinated. Some of the volunteers are medical such as anesthesiologists and nurses.

Some set up activities for the children in the program and their siblings as they wait to see the doctors. Others work with the computer to check in the patients and record their progress. All of this must be done four times each year and Patricia is point person.

Patricia is originally from Alaska. After graduating from high school in Juneau, Patricia attended nurses training in Seattle.

After working in the medical field in Seattle she ended up back in Alaska as a travel agent organizing tours of the 21 glaciers out of Anchorage. She started coming to Vallarta in 1972. Over 30 years ago she married a Mexican and is a Mexican citizen.

When Patricia is not working on the Cleft Palate Program she is busy as the owner of a small Bed and Breakfast with a lovely garden and pool in Bucerias called Casa Tranquila. She runs this with her friend Joann Quickstad.

Without the dedicated volunteers who devote much of their lives and retirement hours to helping others the good work done for those less fortunate in Puerto Vallarta would not happen. If you have a small amount of time or talent to spare please consider becoming a volunteer. You won’t regret it!

The next Cleft Palate Surgery Program will take place the end of May. Please look for a notice one the dates are confirmed or contact the International Friendship Club for details.

The International Friendship Club is a registered charitable organization in Mexico listed as Club Internacional de la Amistad de Puerto Vallarta A.C. It is located at Edificio Parian del Puente #13, Calle Libertad Corner Miramar, Colonia El Centro, PUERTO VALLARTA, Jalisco, Mexico, 48300. Phone: 322-222-5466.
Website: ifcvallarta.com.
Email: ifcvallarta@gmail.com.
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