Team 2 - La Esquintla Hospital Tour

We started our day with a beautiful drive through Guatemala’s countryside to the La Esquintala Hospital. The mountains, volcanoes, rock formations and variety of trees and vegetation are stunning. We arrived at the hospital to find a multitude of patients and families patiently awaiting care. We were greeted by a first year resident MD who assisted in guiding our tour.

We started where the patients start – in their emergency room. There were several small children in the process of care. In the “shock room”, similar to our stabilization room, lay one fellow with an IV fluids infusing and another being ventilated by a staff member. A mechanical ventilator is not available to them in this area. The radiology department consists of one X-Ray machine. The neonatal intensive care unit where very small babies, some mechanically ventilated, covered in layers of blankets and wearing diapers on their heads for warmth. An empty room we passed contained four empty hospital beds – mattresses, minimal bedding, and basic window curtains, but no more. No overbed tables, no nightstands, no closet, no privacy. The pediatric unit and postpartum units were the same, housing eight to ten patients in one large room, four to five beds lined up on either side, facing each other. A white board above each bed gives the name, age, diagnosis, and treatments being given. Anything going on is known to everyone in the room. The supplies are placed in what areas they have available to them. An empty milk jug hung on the side of a supply cart serves as a sharps container. Walls and floors are desperately in need of repair.

We saw the new neonatal and pediatric units, 18 beds each that will give the staff oxygen, suction, and ten electric plugs for equipment above each bed. These units will be the largest and most up to date in all of Guatemala. They are very proud of their new unit, set to open in two months. Yet as we all stand in the midst of the construction, the MD giving the tour is thanking us. They are so grateful for our assistance, that we are helping them through donations and supplies to make their dream happen. They have envisioned a better hospital, a growing hospital, to help make their community a better and stronger place. The staff are resourceful with their limited supplies, they are optimistic about the future, and they continue their work as we all do - for the wins. They point out one young boy in particular who suffered a brain injury, was intubated, cared for, and eventually able to go home with his family. Their spirit is what is most striking of all – the Guatemalan people’s spirit is so hopeful, upbeat, and grateful despite their very limited resources.

This entire experience has been very humbling. We have directly experienced the Guatemalan people’s desire for improvement, their strong will to progress in spite of difficult circumstances, and their resourcefulness and inventiveness of using the limited materials available to them. We all share the common desire to want to improve our own situations, no matter where in the world we are. Hopefully all of us here have been inspired to continue to do our best and remember this experience as we continue on our own individual journeys, and encourage others to do and experience the same.