What We Do
Primary and Family Care
General medicine, gynecology, and pediatrics for patients of all ages.
Dental and Eye Care
Dental and ophthalmology services.
Medication and Chronic Disease Support
Medications for acute and chronic disease, with hypertension and diabetes control support groups.
Testing and Short-Term Inpatient Care
Clinic laboratory services, 24–48 hour inpatient care, and assistance with funding for higher-level and emergency care.
Community Health and Education
Health education programs and community support groups that help guide the clinic’s work.
Vaccination and Parasite Control
Vaccination and anti-parasite programs.
Annual Surgical Campaigns
Yearly surgical campaigns in partnership with visiting teams.
Volunteer and Health-Promoter Programs
Opportunities for American and Bolivian physicians, nurses, medical students, and other healthcare workers, alongside local health promoters.
Who We Serve
Centro Medico serves the people in nearby rural villages who cannot afford healthcare on their own. We treat patients of all ages and with a wide range of health concerns.
Most of the families support themselves by working the surrounding land which is primarily owned by a few families living in the city of Santa Cruz. Families typically live at a subsistence level, earning around $40 per month. The average family size is 4-5 persons and the average home is usually made of mud and reeds and has two rooms and an open-air kitchen. Rice, bread, corn and the root vegetable, yucca, are staples of the diet.
Community-led Support
Each of the main communities served by Centro Medico assumes an active role in its healthcare and has empowered itself by maintaining a Centro Medico support group led by one or two health promoters who live in the community. The groups meet regularly with clinic nurses to discuss health issues and to coordinate clinic programming. The groups provide feedback to clinic staff, helping to ensure that we continue to meet the needs of the people we serve.
The clinic support groups have become indispensable to the daily operations of Centro Medico. Each group sends local volunteers to work in clinic reception and intake, cook for the volunteer medical staff, clean the clinic and help organize Centro Medico festivities.
Surgical Campaigns
The Jager Family Foundation began organizing surgical campaigns to help the CMSH provide elective surgeries for their patients thanks to former clinic coordinator Lisa Jager Villarroel. Their foundation partnered with Hospital San Jose Obrero, which helps provide the operating rooms and post-op care needed for each campaign.
The Surgical Campaigns seamlessly transitioned to the NAVMC in 2015 under the guidance of Amy Peterson-Mills and Dr. Jon Jansen as well as Palacios native and Lisa’s husband Juan Pablo Villarroel.
Donations help fund medications, testing, equipment, and patient care.