The Americas

The Interhealth South America study and service program is an integrated onsite introduction to Ecuadorian and South American primary, community, and public health and healthcare for North American medical students, and residents and practicing physicians. In addition, emphasis is placed on medical Spanish language acquisition, with practical skills development in patient interviewing and examination in Spanish. The principal format of the program provides structured group and individual field experiences in international health, coordinated with medical language immersion study.

Hospital Vozandes del Oriente is a primary care hospital with 28 inpatient beds attended by a staff of four family practice doctors, a general surgeon, and an anesthesiologist. Upwards of 18,000 outpatients are served and over 600 major surgeries are performed each year.

Child Family Health International (CFHI) is a global family of committed professionals and students who work at the grassroots level to promote the health of the world community. CFHI has multiple projects in numerous countries across the globe.

AmeriSpan Study Abroad was created in 1993 by and for lovers of language immersion, study abroad and cultures. Starting as a two person operation with a passion for travel, we have grown to be a leader in educational travel & study abroad with over 28,000 clients.

Total immersion program with a social, environmental & political outlook.

Individualized Spanish Instruction
With our university-educated instructors, students receive 5 hours daily of one-on-one instruction. Course specially engineered for the level and expectations of the individual student.

Pueblo a Pueblo is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting the people of Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala. Located on the shores of Lake Atitlán, this community of more than 40,000 indigenous Maya suffered some of the worst mudslides as a result of Hurricane Stan. The Panabaj mudslides alone buried hundreds of people and left more than 5000 homeless and destitute. The Hospitalito Atitlan, the only ER, inpatient and surgical care facility in the area was once again closed – a victim of the disaster.

Medical director: Dr Bernadette Page: brpage@yahoo.com

If you have been searching for a Spanish language school with opportunities to immerse yourself in the local culture and volunteer in the community, you’ve found it! Pop Wuj offers intensive one-on-one Spanish instruction with highly qualified instructors, room and board with a local family so you can come to know the warmth of Guatemalan hospitality, and a host of volunteer opportunities through our community development projects.

Contact: Roney Gamarro, oficina@pop-wuj.org

Mayan Medical Aid is an non-profit, 501 (c) (3) organization. It was founded in 2004, with the express purpose of funding medically related projects to benefit the Mayan Indians of Guatemala and Southern Mexico.

Mayan Medical Aid is the culmination of a long-standing dream of Craig A. Sinkinson, M.D. His desire, since finishing his medical training, has been to provide high-quality health care to places where there either is none or where what health care is available is inadequate. After many years of planning, he finally has been able to begin to implement the dream in Santa Cruz La Laguna, Guatemala.

The Honduran Health Alliance is an international alliance of organizations working together in the areas of education, capacity building, health and development. Member groups are dedicated to common ideals of cooperation and partnership coupled with self-determination to facilitate our on-going work. The current focus of our work is promoting women's health and community development.

Shoulder to Shoulder is a private, non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO) formed in 1996. Shoulder to Shoulder and Hombro a Hombro work in tandem to achieve a single mission: to develop educational and health programs to help poor, rural communities in Honduras achieve sustainable development and improve the overall health and well being of its residents.

This global health elective is run by the Department of Family Medicine and is open to both third year and fourth year UNC/Chapel Hill students and FM residents. This rotation is available ONLY during Block 7: Jan 4 - Jan 29th, 2010.

Section 1 (first two weeks in Chapel Hill) Students will:
- Participate in seminars covering specific issues associated with global health and medical Spanish classes appropriate to ability (coordinated by Chapel Hill Institute of Cultural and Language Education)
- Apply concepts learned in the seminars to planning for a small scale community health intervention in Honduras

Section 2 (second two weeks in St. Lucia, Honduras - approximate travel dates 1/16 - 1/28/09) Students will:
- Fly as group to Honduras and travel by bus to Shoulder to Shoulder facility in St. Lucia Honduras
- Work in clinics (50% time) and on community health projects (50%) with Shoulder to Shoulder staff and UNC faculty supervisors
- Travel back to North Carolina and debrief the course

Child Family Health International (CFHI) is a global family of committed professionals and students who work at the grassroots level to promote the health of the world community. CFHI has multiple projects in numerous countries across the globe.

Uses a geographic surveillance system to asses the household health care needs in the Sahsa area of Región Autonoma del Atlantico Norte (RAAN) in Nicaragua. Our current emphases are on women's health, family planning, immunizations, and the burden of diarrheal diseases. This project supports efforts from the University of Nicaragua, León (UNAN) to improve community health in and around Sahsa. Established by UNC medical students in 2008, CSHI involves UNC medical, public health, nursing, and geography students working alongside UNAN medical students and faculty toward this common goal