In Honduras, Emergency Medicine is not yet recognized as a medical specialty, creating serious gaps in urgent care. That is why every volunteer physician who brings training can make an immediate impact.
During a recent CAMO medical brigade, Dr. Tony Lazcano traveled from the United States to serve in the Emergency Department at Hospital de Occidente, a unit built by CAMO. While treating patients, he trained doctors, nurses, and medical students in emergency protocols that will continue saving lives long after he returned home.
One key lesson was the use of C-PAP machines, which help patients in respiratory failure breathe again. During that same week, several patients improved because the team had learned how to use this life-saving equipment correctly. Trauma patients, including victims of motorcycle accidents, were also treated.
Building Respiratory Therapy in Honduras
For more than 25 years, CAMO has worked to establish Respiratory Therapy in Honduras, where respiratory illness remains one of the leading causes of death.
For the past four years, respiratory therapists Wendy Castro and Karen Schell have returned regularly to train healthcare professionals alongside four professors from a private university, helping build the curriculum for this much-needed profession.
Every six months, new teams return to continue the training. Each visit brings knowledge that immediately helps patients struggling to breathe.
A Lasting Impact
Because when a healthcare worker knows how to restore a patient’s breath, a life can be saved.
