In Honduras, VCOM partnered with Baxter Institute to re-open the James Moody Adams (JMA) Clinic, serving a population of families earning less than a dollar per capita per day in an impoverished area of Tegucigalpa. The site offers primary care, gynecology and prenatal services, and dentistry, as well as pharmaceutical needs for the patients. Clinical rotations for third and fourth year VCOM students take place in both the clinic and the local hospital.
Exploring a recent partnership with Mission Upreach, a non-profit organization, VCOM has expanded its geographical reach in Honduras to the mountainous, coffee-growing regions of Santa Rosa de Copán. Twice a year, VCOM students travel to some of the most underserved areas of Honduras and serve rural village citizens who have scarce or no access to medical care.
Through these partnerships in Honduras, VCOM is able to provide care for thousands of patients annually who would otherwise be without care.
Training for Self-Sufficiency
The JMA Clinic also features a Nutrition and Training Center, which assists the families of children who are evaluated as malnourished by the clinic’s physicians. Mothers in this program attend vocational training classes, equipping them to support their families, and participation qualifies their families for supplemental food baskets. Families receive visits from the clinic nutritionist and social worker to provide assistance and ensure donated food is being used appropriately. The program has a high success and completion rate.
Training First Responders
Each year VCOM offers a First Responder Training Workshop to the graduating class of ministers at the Baxter Institute. During the 16-hour course, students learn CPR, wound care, and patient stabilization. VCOM provides graduates with a backpack equipped with CPR masks, blood pressure cuffs, thermometers, first aid kits, and other items. This knowledge and equipment is crucial for ministers to serve as health educators in remote communities of Latin America.