The very first team to return to Guatemala will arrive on May 1st and we are so excited to be welcoming our teams home! We have been busy over the past several months preparing and joyfully looking towards the day teams return.
Village Medical Clinic Sites
Throughout February and March, our Village Program staff, Felipe and Tagni, made trips to the different departments across Guatemala to plan logistics, survey medical clinic sites, and work with the Guatemalan volunteer leaders as they recruit patients.
Reflecting on these trips, Tagni shared that “this has been a beautiful reminder of the great love and commitment the Guatemalan volunteers have for the mission, it simply fueled my faith and HOPE for all of us. They CANNOT wait to see everyone back and work side by side—safely, socially distanced—for the people of Guatemala!”
Felipe also noted the excitement of the Guatemalan volunteers who are eagerly awaiting the return of our volunteers. He shared that “it was so good to see the joy in our volunteer leaders’ faces when we were visiting the sites for our medical missions. All of our volunteer leaders are excited about the teams coming back to Guatemala because they have many patients asking them when the doctors will be returning.”
Patient Triage and Surgery Preparation
Earlier this month we held a day of triage for trauma patients that will receive treatment from our upcoming orthopedic surgery teams, beginning with the Parsley/Woolf team. Our staff and volunteer leaders continue to work on recruiting patients and planning for our teams’ clinics and surgeries. Everyone is excited for teams to return and provide care for these patients!
Additionally, our Surgical Program staff are collaborating with the Obras and Hilario Galindo hospitals on COVID-19 prevention protocols and conducting dry-runs to anticipate and troubleshoot potential issues prior to team arrivals.
Supply Chain
The warehouse staff has been busy packing and organizing medications and supplies for returning teams. A DeRoyal-sponsored container has arrived in Guatemala with 20 pallets of PPE donated by Henry Schein Cares and PROTEKX, and Zimmer Biomet has donated orthopedic knee and hip implants and instrumentation.
Zoom Calls and Roundtables
We have zoom calls scheduled each month with all of our team leaders to discuss important updates and details for their upcoming trips. In February we covered supply chain and in March we discussed team logistics (arrival, hotels, COVID-19 safety measures, etc.). We will have a final zoom call in April just before the first team arrives.
In addition to these Zoom calls, we are holding individual virtual roundtables with each team to have more in-depth discussions, plan the details of their trip, answer questions, and work together to ensure the safety of volunteers, patients, and staff.
We invite you to join us in celebrating this return to Guatemala by supporting and praying for our teams. Stay up-to-date on how we are preparing for our teams’ safe return, connecting patients with scheduled teams, and sharing the excitement and anticipation from our U.S. and Guatemalan volunteers on our
