Centro Medico serves the 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. 

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.