DOCUMENTATION required for medical personnel, medications and glasses.

Please contact Mario Rivas at eamedicalteams@gmail.com about 2 months before your arrival to make sure that MINSA has not added new requirements. If you have any questions about the documentation, please contact Mario.

The documentation and the format that a team leader must submit for MINSA is very specific. It is strongly advised for the team leader to collect the doctors’ and nurses’ CVs, licenses, and diploma 2 months before their arrival. Then, meeting the deadline will be in the hands of the team leader. If doctors or several people are gathering meds and supplies, the information must be combined on one Excel spreadsheet with a calculated total value at the bottom. All medications and medical supplies must have an expiration date at least one year later than your arrival in Nicaragua. Every item must be individually priced on the spreadsheet. If you purchase a MAP packet, you will need to assign prices to each individual line item. Everything must be e-mailed to the team leader and the team leader must e-mail the documentation 6-7 weeks before the team arrives in Nicaragua. Here is a checklist of the required documents to be e-mailed to Mario at EAMedicalTeams@gmail.com. PLEASE type your church/organization name in the subject line of every e-mail you send to help sort information. You may also include the type of documents you are attaching. (Example: FUMC Fort Worth: licenses, diplomas.)

DOCUMENTS NEEDED: There is a new requirement by MINSA that every sheet submitted must be signed and notarized.
NOTARY SEALS--the notary seals must be readable after they are scanned, e-mailed, and printed. Ink stamps are the best and it would be worth the effort to find a notary with an ink seal. The embossed seal is much more difficult to obtain a readable scan of the seal. You will need to shade the seal with a pencil and test sending a scan of the document to yourself and printing.

1. EXCEL SPREADSHEET

• with meds and glasses—best to send 6-7 weeks before your deadline and before you print and notarize—in order to avoid having to re-do. Your document will be checked for any banned meds or other changes that need to be made. The list will be translated to Spanish and e-mailed back to you to have printed on letterhead, sign, and notarize.
• PRINTED ON LETTERHEAD--CV FORM—not your regular CV. Do not add information to this form. Only list your highest college degree and submit a clear, readable copy of full diploma. (download: Excel)

2. CHURCH/ORGANIZATION LETTERHEAD

• with Medicine/Medical Supply List that has been revised by Mario and translated to Spanish--printed on letterhead and notarized
• Letters of Donation—Spanish and English—More information must now be included so Mario will email you the letters ready to be printed, signed, and notarized when he sends you the revised, translated meds list.
• Team Information

NAME OF CHURCH OR SPONSORING ORGANIZATION:
ARRIVAL DATE:
DEPARTURE DATE:
TEAM LEADER:
ARRIVAL FLIGHT NAME, NUMBER, AND TIME:
DEPARTURE FLIGHT NAME, NUMBER, AND TIME:
LIST OF MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS: (do not list specialty unless they will be performing duties that only their specialty will allow)

The following group will stay at El Ayudante while in Nicaragua.
TEAM ROSTER (names only):

3. DIPLOMA:  must be scanned either as a JPEG or TIFF file and need to be downsized to less than 1MB before e-mailing.

4. MEDICAL LICENSE(S) with a valid expiration date: You must be currently licensed to practice in the U.S. to practice in Nicaragua. Medical students are not authorized to practice medicine. They should NOT be listed as a medical professional. They can assist the MDs—like any other non-medical team member. These licenses need to

5. ORIGINAL MEDICAL DOCUMENTATION: (signed and notarized) Every document that was signed, notarized and sent to Mario must be carried on the plane in a carry-on and handed to Mario at the airport. These must be the copies with the original notary seal.

FORMAT FOR MEDS LIST ON EXCEL DOCUMENT: It is necessary to list the concentration and /or % of active ingredient. If you are unsure of one, it can be researched on the internet. This is a requirement. Here is the format for your Excel sheet. If you are bringing instruments, medical equipment or other non-medicine supplies, please contact Mario for the format.

VITAMINS: At this time, MINSA/Managua will not allow vitamins to be dispensed without their personal inspection of the vitamins. The time that this would take will not allow our teams to bring vitamins. If this changes, we will post the change here.
EVERY ITEM must be listed individually. You cannot list “First Aid Kit.”

GLASSES must be divided on the spreadsheet by the strength of the glasses. Put a nominal donation fee--$100 for all. MINSA informed us that glasses are taxable at customs, and we want to avoid this.
 
Please check your expiration dates one last time before printing to make sure that everything listed has an expiration date at least ONE YEAR later than your arrival in Nicaragua. Excel often switches the format of what you type when you change cells.

MINSA Managua may require additional information about a specific item. If so, Mario will contact you by e-mail. This process is tedious and will often require more than you think should be required. El Ayudante is committed to Dr. Medina and the people of Leon to meet the requirements of MINSA and to work under their authority to serve those in greatest need.