| Sinus Care |
| Pediatric Otolaryngology |
| Cancer Care |
| Thyroid / Parathyroid |
| Sleep Disorders |
| Hearing Services |
| Speech & Voice Care |
| Cosmetic Services |
Outreach Africa Volunteer Mission |
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“Outreach Africa is an Iowa-based organization founded to provide water treatment and feeding centers in Central Tanzania, where they’ve recognized such great need,” Dr. Young says. “They’ve also partnered with Singida Regional Hospital to help address medical issues.” Dr. Young was part of a 32-member team -- including his assistant at ENT Clinic of Iowa, Kelsey Pickering – who traveled to Singida for the first pediatric medical mission. The group set up clinics in “Malnutrition remains a major issue in this poorest region of Tanzania," Dr. Young says. “Common childhood illnesses such ear infections and even diarrhea are expressed more acutely in a child with little nutritional reserve.” The mission team found that because of dire poverty, children tend to suffer otherwise rare injures -- such as burns from cooking fires.
"We took the child to the operating room and were able to remove it, but it was difficult. I honestly wasn’t sure she would survive that normally routine procedure.” According to Dr. Young, his medical colleagues in Tanzania had their own challenges. Common medical conditions such as ear infections often were untreated, while children brought in with high fevers were automatically treated for malaria. Valuable equipment, supplies & knowledge The team also left behind much-needed medical equipment such as ultrasound machines and surgical gear – most of which had been donated by Iowa hospitals, surgical centers, and a local equipment supplier.
“I really got a sense that our presence at this regional hospital offered a tremendous teaching opportunity," Dr Young says. “The local doctors and nurses gave us an amazing welcome. They shared their desire to learn -- but also their frustrations at the limited resources available to them in Singida.” "Dr. Bala, a local physician who quickly became indispensable to us, mentioned that he was convinced the examination of the ear should be a critical part of every child’s examination. I agreed that it was very important….but then I realized he was saying they literally didn’t have the instruments – otoscopes – to look in peoples’ ears. We left them every otoscope we had.” Looking forward
“We really owe a big thanks to ENT Clinic of Iowa and the other hospitals and clinics in the community who have been willing to donate equipment, supplies, money -- or their staff members’ time -- to such a worthy cause,” Dr. Young says. “Not only that, but we couldn’t do it without our families – who were so supportive of letting us head out into a bit of a ‘great unknown’ to help children half a world away.” To learn more about Outreach programs, visit www.outreachafrica.org.
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Earlier this year, ENT Clinic of Iowa’s
a feeding center and at Singida Regional Hospital, treating nearly 1,000 patients – many of whom waited hours to be seen.
“My colleague (and mission team leader) Dr. Lisa Menzies treated one child who had swallowed a coin – who knows how long it had been there,” Dr. Young says. “It’s a problem that would have been addressed quickly and safely here in the United States.
The group is hoping to organize another pediatric medical mission to the Singida region next year – perhaps with the addition of a pediatric plastic surgeon. In the meantime, they’ll try to work out issues such as fundraising, equipment glitches, and travel schedules. 
