Rice University student Nathan Lo at the Clinica Medica in Santa Ana, Intibuca, Honduras.
I awoke to calls from across the building. “There’s been an accident, and we need everyone to come help.” Stumbling out of my tent, I quickly made it to the other side of the empty concrete building referred to as the “Clinica Medica” in the small border town of Santa Ana, Intibuca, Honduras.
As a student volunteer in a medical brigade of 15 people (three doctors) from the Baylor College of Medicine Shoulder to Shoulder Foundation that conducts large clinics in Santa Ana twice a year, it was my purpose to observe the health situation there and help, if possible.
I groggily arrived at the clinic in flip flops, athletic shorts, and no shirt, but was jolted awake by the sight of two injured women, the victims of a car accident, lying on the old examination tables; both were dirty, bloody and moaning for their children as they drifted in and out of consciousness. The lead doctor pointed to me to start cleaning up the less severely injured patient. Armed with latex gloves, gauze, and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and saline, I cleaned her body as she called for her daughter over and over. I tried to reassure her in my high school-level Spanish that it would be okay. When I came to the open wound on her knee, she grimaced and grabbed my hand, looking to me as if to save her life. She didn’t let go until I forcefully gave her hand to her friend so that I could run across the room to assist the doctor with the other victim.
As time went on, it became increasingly evident that our clinic did not have the facilities to treat these women and that all we could do was to stabilize them the best we could. I glanced back to check on the first woman, and saw that she had found comfort in the hands of my classmate from Rice University, who gave her the best treatment possible at that point: a firm hand and soothing words.
Unfortunately, the closest clinic with sufficient facilities would require a four-hour drive in the back of a pick-up truck (the village ambulance) on extremely rocky mountain terrain. There was no other option. We were forced to use wooden boards lying in the mud outside to provide the neck support required to make the bumpy ride without further injury to the patients.
About 50 villagers who had heard the news gathered outside the clinic to help in any way possible. Some had carried the women two miles through the mountains from the site of the accident to the clinic; none were related to the injured women. It was a touching sight, but in the end, the crowd could do nothing to help. The patients were loaded into the car, and driven away.
Although we heard from the villagers that the woman who appeared to be less injured died later that night of internal bleeding, thankfully it turned out to be just a rumor. Even better, five days later, we confirmed that at least one woman survived and was discharged. This time, we got lucky.
Santa Ana, pop. 900, is like hundreds of other towns in the developing world without adequate medical care, though it leans toward the lucky end with a devoted local doctor and visible efforts from outside organizations: there is a purified water source for some of the village, a clinic (although unfinished), and even a Lab-in-a-Backpack for medical purposes supplied by Rice University’s Beyond Traditional Borders program in conjunction with Rice 360.
At the same time, Santa Ana has the same problems as other Honduran villages, including sewage that infects the river and other water sources, unventilated stoves that produce harmful chemicals, lack of or expired medications, and a deplorable education system that requires hours of travel for those wanting the equivalent of a high school education.
Often, it seems the mentality is that a money is all it takes to help a town like Santa Ana. Throw some medical supplies and non-perishable foods in a box and ship it. I honestly believe that such an undirected approach is a waste of money. To create the effective and long-term change required in these villages, it takes continuous interaction and commitment between an outside organization and village leaders, a motivated town leadership, and a passionate community that understands and supports change — a trait that Santa Ana and its villagers show time and time again.
The town’s 10-year-old clinic, supported by the Baylor Shoulder to Shoulder (BSTS) Foundation, has made significant progress toward becoming a multi- service medical facility that can serve Santa Ana and a large neighboring town that is the home of tens of thousands of Hondurans. Currently however, $300,000 is needed to achieve the dream of a fully operational Clinica Medica. Once completed, BSTS hopes to further outfit the clinic with accommodations for a full-time doctor, as well as facilities for a dentist, optometrist, and a minor surgical unit capable of treating victims like the two women involved in the car accidents mentioned above. But until then, the little town of Santa Ana will have to make do the best way it knows how, through self-reliance and an inspirational community spirit.
Nathan Lo is an undergraduate intern for the Baker Institute Science and Technology Policy Program working under the supervision of Kirstin Matthews. He is a sophomore majoring in bioengineering and minoring in global health technologies who plans to attend medical school after receiving his degree. Donations to the Clinica Medica may be made through the Baylor College of Medicine Shoulder to Shoulder Foundation.