Our aim
and mission is to build medical and holistic healthcare capacity in partnership
with the “Ciudad de Esperanza” in Coban, Guatemala, so that over a period of
5-10 years the community can be self sustaining in meeting their own health
care needs. In keeping with Regis University’s mission as a “social projection,”
to respond in solidarity and shared faith, hope, and love, with the people of Guatemala
and to help our students encounter the “other side” of the immigration crisis
at the US southern border.
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The project begins each fall with the selection of 10-12 nursing, pre-med, and
other pre-healthcare professional students, to help support an existing but
rudimentary clinic in Coban, along with a medical team of volunteer physicians, nurses,
and a pharmacist.
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Interested Regis University students apply and interview for a spot on the team in
September and those selected begin weekly meetings with the medical team during
the fall semester to learn about Guatemalan history and culture and develop the
skills necessary for clinical triage. In the spring, the Regis
team will travel to Coban to run a primary care clinic, seeing patients all week,
rotating through triage, shadowing an internist and pediatrician, and assisting
in pharmaceutical, optical, and dental care.
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The team will assist local community healthcare workers educate the community
in healthcare practices such as the importance of clean drinking water,
nutrition, dental hygiene, diabetes prevention and treatment, and newborn care.
The team will partner with the Guatemalan company Ecofiltro to provide
subsidized home water filters, and will stock the clinic pharmacy for a year.
+ The team fundraises enough annually to sustain the stipend for the clinic to have a Guatemalan physician year-round at the clinic, part time; as well as a full time Guatemalan nurse.
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The interfaith dimension of the trip underscores the centrality of faith in the
context of holistic wellbeing (physical, mental, spiritual) and celebrates the
diverse ways the human family expresses such faith. The Ciudad de Esperanza
staff a full-time social worker and human rights advocate, and its founding
priest, Padre Sergio Godoy, is guided by the vision of Catholic Social
teaching.
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The project empowers Regis students to begin their healthcare careers with an
emphasis on learning from and serving marginalized communities. As needed, the
medical team will provide virtual support to the community healthcare workers
in Coban for follow-up of chronic patients.
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The projected budget for the project is $85,000-$90,000 per year. Students
will each contribute $500 and participate in fund-raising activities throughout
the year. The medical team donates their time and services, though their
airfare and related travel expenses are covered.
Medical
director: Lauri Pramuk, MD – pediatrician and 1993 Regis University alumna
Richard Walter, MD – internist; Stephanie Ibemere, PhD RN;
Kristen Kellogg, MSN, FNP; Eric Bertelesen, RPH, Pharmacist; Christian Alegria, DMD, dentist; Deborah Bauer, DPT, physical therapist; Monse Pineda Lagunas, RN; Ricky Perez MBS; Christopher Pramuk, PhD theology and Regis University Chair
of Ignatian Thought and Imagination. We have two Spanish interpreters that join us from the US - Mari Molinar and Antonio Soriano.
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ReplyDeleteI’m so proud of the entire team and the efforts you Dr Lauri have put into this program over the years! May God continue to bless and protect the workers, supporters and grand unwavering favors in Jesus name!
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