A temporary move turned into a permanent move in 1983.
Doc turned for help to his friend, Dr. Bill Bertrand, at Tulane’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.
For a few years prior, even as the violence heated up, Bill and Doc had collaborated on placing public health students at the Clinic for experience-based education and also to conduct special projects there, such as publication of the manual, “Quien Guarda Su Salud,” by Victoria Ward. Through this collaboration, students Patricia O’Connor and Jim Hogan, among others, forged ties with Doc and shortly thereafter, became BCF board members.
But now, in 1983, Doc needed Tulane University and his friends there to provide a safe haven for himself, his second wife Alicia, and their four young children. Bill arranged for Doc to work as an adjunct professor, teaching a popular international health course each semester, which he did until his death in 1990.
When it was safe once again, Doc was able to return to Guatemala for long weekends during the school year and he and his family spent their summers back in Chimaltenango.
