Santa Ana is a village of about 700 inhabitants, located in the mountains of Western Honduras, bordering El Salvador. The closest hospitals are 1-1/2 hours away in El Salvador and five hours away in La Esperanza, Honduras. Houston Shoulder to Shoulder has partnered with Dr. Carol Gomez, a Honduran doctor who has lived in the area for 17 years. She provides clinical services in the unfinished clini
c five days a week, and her husband Arturo Gomez works as the in-country administrative director for the Houston Shoulder to Shoulder Foundation. Several times a year, a brigade of medical faculty, medical students, optometrists, public health students, and a dentist travel to Santa Ana to conduct large clinics. General medical services, well-women exams, optometry services, and dental services are provided. With these brigades, the foundation strives to provide students and faculty from Baylor College of Medicine and other institutions, as well as interested community members, experience working in resource-poor settings to foster interest in global health. Participants can learn firsthand about leadership, public health, and working with a community within constrained resources.
