As a clinical instructor and faculty, I will be travelling to Guatemala for 1 week with fellow faculty members and medical students. While there, we will hold our biannual clinics to serve the population surround San Lucas Toliman. This is a continuing partnership of over 20 years with the San Lucas Catholic Mission. As part of this service, we have been able to establish hypertension, diabetes, nutrition, and women's health clinics. Additionally, we work under the supervision of local Guatemalan physicians to ensure adequate treatment and follow up for the people we serve. We see a variety of pathologies ranging from chronic disease to skin infections to women's health and pregnancy related complaints. I learn greatly from the shared experiences with my colleagues, students, and of course the local residents. For over 20 years we have been able to provide long-lasting health care services to at risk populations.
These sites are chosen for specific reasons. Within Guatemala there are several Mayan and indigenous communities that are frequently forgotten by the health care system. Many government wide policies ignore the needs of indigenous persons. Additionally, because language is so varied, not all persons speak spanish. This is why we have translators who speak the Mayan language Kaqchikel. Also, we collaborate with our community health workers. These are individuals who are community members at our various sites and publicize and participate in the clinics while ensuring that any orders we place are followed through and health care needs are met in a timely and culturally appropriate fashion.
The expected impact is a short-lived and long-lived one. We are providing direct medical care which has san impact on immediate health outcomes. We refill various hypertensive medications, provide treatment for skin infections, and provide vitamins and some over the counter supplements for free. However, over the pat 20 years we have seen a significant impact. The community has instilled their trust in us and the services we provide. They looks to their community health workers and see that we want to fill a clear gap in the health care system. Selfishly, I gain a lot from these trips. I learn so much about global health pathology, management of chronic diseases, and managing acute needs in a low resource setting. I am the current global health fellow and also work in Rwanda. This work has a direct impact on my experiential learning and the work I will do for the rest of my career.
We had an amazing two weeks supporting the mission of Friends of San Lucas. As a university, University of Wisconsin has been sending medical volunteers for over a decade to organize and participate in medical clinics. We have an awesome hypertension, diabetes, women’s health, and nutrition clinic that runs year round. Being able to travel to Guatemala, meet the staff, community members, and working with our world class interpreters is an experience I’ll never forget! If interested in learning more or donating to the cause visit https://sanlucasmission.org/!
