Karen von Boetticher, Human Resources, AMN Healthcare
SAN CRISTOBAL ALTA VERAPAZ, GUATEMALA - In order to successfully deliver
life-changing care to hundreds of San Cristobal patients, or install
the 60 disease- and injury-preventing stoves and water filtration
systems, everyone who is part of “Team Esperanza” needs to stay healthy,
hydrated, and properly fueled for the day’s journey.
In
addition to breakfast, lunch and dinner, this includes coffee and snacks
for the night nurses in the recovery room, sack lunches for the
off-site “stover” team, and plenty of clean, cool water to beat the
hospital heat. No, we don’t have A/C, even in the operating room most
of the time. Maintaining a safe kitchen is of the utmost importance,
because tap water in Guatemala contains microbes that can make you very
sick. And you can’t take care of sick people or install stoves if you’re
sick.
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EL RANCHO, COBAN, GUATEMALA – As an AMN volunteer for the HELPS
International medical mission to Guatemala, I came with the expectation
that I would be emotionally moved by the work that I was going to do –
installing safety stoves in the homes of families living in extreme
poverty. These stoves saves lives because they replace indoor cook fires
that people in the highlands build on the dirt floors of their homes.
The new stoves vent the toxic fire smoke out of the home and prevent
burns from children falling into fires.
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SAN CRISTOBAL ALTA VERA PAZ, GUATEMALA – How do you create a
near-complete health system in a few hours? HELPS International
accomplished this feat last Sunday afternoon with the help of AMN
Healthcare in the highlands of Guatemala. In fact, HELPS undertakes this
arduous task several times a year at different locations in this lush
green but impoverished land. What’s required are a team of dedicated
volunteers, a few staff members who work really hard, steadfast donors
and great logistics. And an empty hospital.
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