Projects: Project Hospitalito

Many times we evaluate patients who have never seen a doctor. When they are told their conditions require surgery the concept is difficult for them to accept. This is not only because of the fear of surgery, and because they view hospitals as places to die, but also because of the distances they often have to travel to the hospital. Some must walk for 6 or 7 hours to catch a bus, and then take a series of buses for another 8 hours.

This time away from home and the fear of venturing so far into the unknown makes the journey impossible in their eyes. They decline an often-simple procedure, and continue to live with their deteriorating ailment.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

To combat this problem we are working on building a new small clinic in central Guatemala, closer to the population which we help. Currently we are researching two possible locations in the Alta Verapaz region and are working on the logistics of making such a project work.

Our plan is to run this hospitalito with local staff and to bring in foreign volunteer surgical teams who will provide elective surgery for our patients and educational opportunities for local healthcare providers. Our aim is to make this project sustainable and are looking into how this can best be done. This is a long-term project that we hope will some day run without us.
 

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