When Pneumonia Strikes
Recently, at our rural health clinic in Veracruz, a mother came in needing urgent care for her daughter. Struggling to breathe, the three-year-old was immediately examined by Tomasita, who volunteers as a community health worker (CHW) at the clinic. The child was found to be suffering from pneumonia, requiring a nebulizer to stabilize her breathing so that she could be transported to Comayagua for immediate hospitalization.
At Santa Teresa Hospital, she received treatment for fifteen days before she was well enough to return home. Today, she continues to receive care and support from the Brigade and the CHWs in Veracruz, including weekly check-ups, healthy foods, and medications.
Finding access to medical care in Honduras is hard to come by, especially in rural mountain communities like Veracruz. According to the World Health Organization, there are only 3.1 doctors for every 100,000 people throughout the country. Most of the rural villages of Honduras are isolated and lack health clinics, making preventable deaths related to drinking contaminated water, respiratory infections, and pregnancy complications common.
The health clinics built by VHC Medical Brigade have served as the first step in bridging the gap in healthcare access for Hondurans in the rural villages of the mountains, but the buildings are nothing without the well-trained and caring community health workers who run them. CHWs volunteer their time to learn how to provide primary care, diagnose and treat basic illnesses, and confirm when further medical attention is necessary. In addition to the training we provide, the Brigade also equips CHWs with the needed medicines and supplies to meet the basic healthcare needs of their communities.
"Our community health workers are crucial to the communities in the mountains. The importance of their work is enormous. If Tomasita weren't there, the child's mother would not have known what to do. She would have stayed home and never been able to pursue medical attention, and the little girl would have died."
- Nelson Martinez, Director of Operations
Community health workers play the critical role of first responders and prevent fatalities with simple yet lifesaving treatments.
Thanks to the trained community health workers who volunteer in our clinics, there has been a drastic reduction in deaths from preventable and easily treatable illnesses. However, there are still not enough community health workers to reach many rural communities. As we train and equip more community health workers, we aim not only to increase access to healthcare today but also to strengthen the health of communities for generations to come.