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Services
More than 100,000 people are expected to receive
direct benefits from the Project in 2008, through
14 types of services offered. (You may click on one
of the links below to jump to a specific program,
or browse all programs by scrolling down.)
If you would like to support a specific program, please so indicate when making your donation. Thank you.
Medical Clinics
From a small clinic back in 1995, offering
general services to about 200 people a month, there
are now 5 medical clinics which this year alone will
provide treatment to over 18,000 people. Each clinic
is staffed by a nurse who provides prescreening, maintains
patient records and assists with treatment procedures;
and a licensed physician who provides dignified, humane,
professional care. The majority of the patients seen
are women and children, with the most commonly treated
illnesses being those related to respiratory and gastrointestinal
problems and obstetric-gynecological, including pre/post
natal care. All those who seek care at any of the
5 medical clinics are provided services daily on first
come first served basis. Each patient is asked to
help with a Q10.00 (US$1.25) contribution toward the
actual cost of a basic visit, which amounts to Q28.64
(US$3.58), but as with all of our services no one
is denied because of inability to pay.
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La Labor, San Pedro Ayampuc
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Medical Day and Surgery Campaigns
Thanks to various professionals who
volunteer their time and talents to join us, we are
able to offer periodic special medical day campaigns.
Services offered have been in accord with the specialty
and expertise of the volunteers and have included
pediatric, ophthalmologic and otorhinolaryngological
exams. In addition, every year we are able to hold
a surgery campaign with the help of a team of medical
volunteers from United States. The surgeries are performed
in a makeshift surgery suite set up in the parish
hall in La Labor and include hernia repairs, cyst
removals and other minor surgeries which otherwise
would be unavailable to those in our service area.
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Volunteer team from Dayton, Ohio performs surgery
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Community Pharmacies
Each medical clinic includes a community pharmacy. These pharmacies enable patients both from our clinics and from other areas to obtain high quality medication at a low cost and therefore increase the possibility that treatment plans will be implemented. Recent comparisons have shown that medicines in our pharmacies cost on average 70% less than what they cost in a private pharmacy. Medications for our pharmacies come from a variety of sources including being purchased at a low cost from drug companies here in Guatemala, purchased and/or donated from other non-profit organizations and donations from organizations and individuals in the United States.
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Filling a prescription at the pharmacy in La Labor
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Pharmacy
in La Labor
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Vaccinations
As a developing country where over
80% of the population lives in poverty, Guatemala
has one of the highest rates of infant mortality.
Most of these deaths are caused by preventable diseases.
For this reason the vaccination program was started
over ten years ago. Twice weekly a trained nurse with
the assistance of the Health Promoters travel to different
rural communities where they meet with the mothers
to promote the use of vaccinations and give the vaccinations
to children under five years of age, as well as to
pregnant women. These vaccinations which include BCG
against tuberculosis, polio, diphtheria, pertussis,
measles, mumps, rubella and tetanus are received from
the government health service and we provide them
free of charge so that no person is denied this very
important protection. Records are kept for each child
and mothers are instructed in the importance of maintaining
the proper schedule along with safety factors to assist
in preventing infectious disease.
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Dina vaccinating a
baby while Karin and Marina keep the records
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Laboratories
To better facilitate a more accurate diagnosis with its appropriate treatment plan, we offer the services of two clinical laboratories. These laboratories provide basic blood, urine and stool testing as well as diabetic glucose exams and pregnancy testing. The average exam costs between Q5.00 and Q15.00 (US$0.63 and US$1.86) and results are given immediately to the patient so they can take them along to their doctor's appointment. As with our other clinical services, these laboratories provide a quality, low cost service that would otherwise be unattainable for the people of our area.
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The laboratory in Nueva Esperanza
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Dental Clinics
With the only professional dental staff
found in our area, along with our advanced technological
equipment, the two dental clinics are able to offer
high quality services ranging from dental diagnosis
to whatever dental treatment is deemed necessary.
Until the first clinic was started over ten years
ago there was little or no dental attention which
contributed to such poor oral hygiene that the only
intervention utilized was extraction of teeth to eliminate
pain. Now patients are able receive low cost dental
care that matches the most modern clinics found only
in Guatemala City.
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Dental Day Campaigns
Volunteer dentists donating their time, skills and equipment have allowed us to provide Dental Day Campaigns, which includes exams and extractions in more remote communities. In addition our Project dentists have implemented an ongoing dental outreach program where they visit a different community each month. If a patient requires more extensive treatment than extraction, especially with the possibility of preserving teeth, referrals are made to one of the dental clinics.
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Dr. Walt and his assistant Cathy have led campiagns several years in a row
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Primary School Services
Our Mission involves a deep commitment
to the children of Guatemala, who are so vulnerable
and yet they are the future of this developing country.
For this reason we have implemented four outreach
programs in the 42 primary schools of our area. More
than 10,000 children participate in these programs
each year.
Dental Health Education and Fluoride Program
With the goal of improving the dental health and well being of
the children in our service area we have developed
two programs that focus on dental health education
and prevention of caries. Once a year the dentists,
dental assistants and community health promoters visit
each school where all of the students participate
in a creative educational activity focusing on proper
oral hygiene. Each child then receives a kit that
contains a toothbrush, toothpaste and dental educational
material and in small groups is instructed on proper
brushing technique. They are encouraged to take the
toothbrushes home and continue to use them on a daily
basis. In addition, studies done by the National Guatemalan
University Dental Program have shown that the use
of fluoride by school age children reduces new cavities
by 60%. Since none of the communities in our service
area have fluorinated water systems and there are
communities in our area that do not have access to
potable water, we have implemented a fluoride program
in 15 schools. At the beginning of the school year,
teachers are trained in the administration of the
fluoride solution swishes that students receive on
a weekly basis. Once a month one of the dental assistants
visits each participating school to provide supervision,
give the fluoride swishes and leave the fluoride solution
for the teachers to use until the next visit. All
schools that participate in the fluoride program sign
a contract at the beginning of the year confirming
their commitment to carry out the program on a weekly
basis for the whole school year. This helps to insure
that the children will receive the maximum benefit
of the program.
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Healthy Habits to Live Better, a Health and Hygiene Education Program for School Age Children
The goal of this program is to improve
the overall health and well being of children through
health education, instruction about proper hygiene
and promotion of healthy habits and self-care.
The program consists of 4 distinct educational modules
on personal hygiene, mental health, nutrition and
prevention of addictions. It includes didactic information,
creative activities and interactive participation
of students with the program staff and the teaching
staff of the participating school. Teachers are trained
and given materials that are used for a series of
activities to reinforce the information until the
next presentation. This helps to ensure a greater
impact of the program. Parent participation is also
an important part of this program in order to promote
at home practice of the healthy habits learned.
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Educational Ecology Talks
With the goal of raising environmental consciousness, talks on ecology aimed at the care of the environment and proper sanitation have been given in all of the primary schools by our Environmental Health and Sanitation Team. Promoting changes in habits and attitudes will help our future generations interact more responsibly with our natural habitat.
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The children learn to care for the environment
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Health Education Talks
Awareness among the adult population in active self-health promotion is important for empowering communities and promoting positive change. With this objective in mind our paramedical personnel under the direction of the medical staff have implemented health education talks for local women groups in four different communities. The topics have included women's health, child nutrition, HIV/AIDS and caring for common health problems in the home. Participation and interest has been positive and new topics are now being prepared to continue this valuable program to help the women solve their own problems and improve the quality of life for their families.
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A group of attentive mothers at one of the Health Talks
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The Project helps women learn how to better care for their families
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Environmental Health and Sanitation
In the medical clinics operated by the Sangre de Cristo Health Care Project, over 50% of the reported illnesses have poor sanitation as their origin. This familial and communitarian problem is extensive due to the underlying factors which contribute to the overall poor quality of life, such as lack of proper housing, water, electricity, sewage systems, garbage disposal, communication, as well as indiscriminate use of chemical insecticides and deforestation. In addition to this high incidence of disease which affects largely the women and children in our area, we have also observed and been alarmed by the increased contamination of the environment, which everyday becomes more critical. This is most notable in the resettlement areas that are experiencing a rapid growth in population without the necessary growth in infrastructure that would provide the essential services for a dignified life.
As a result the Project has put into
place an Environmental Health and Sanitation Program
designed to promote a higher quality of life by responding
to the root problems and needs that affect health.
Activities include implementation of appropriate technology
including dry organic fertilizer latrines, clean air
wood stoves and water cisterns. There is a reforestation
program with more than 8,000 tress planted annually,
drinking water analysis carried out in 14 communities
with assistance to local organizations in order to
take corrective measures. With the aim of demonstrating
to the families that there are ways to improve the
quality of life even with limited resources, a model
garden has been developed. And the implementation
of a nine-month educational program for community
leaders is in its sixth year of existence. These leaders
have shared information and skills in their own communities,
thus increasing the positive impact of the Project.
Our team has also spearheaded at the township level
the formation of a commission to deal with adequate
waste management.
Starting in January, 2006, the Environmental
Health and Sanitation Program is being implemented
by Ecotono Global, under the leadership of Antonio
Reyes Romero. This implementation model will help
provide for better results and promote greater benefits
in the environment that impacts the whole community.
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Latrines built by the Project
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Click here to see Project Statistics (including financial information)
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