Peten Health

Peten Health Peten Health is a US-based non-profit founded to work in solidarity with volunteer Community Health Workers in Peten, Guatemala.

Petén Health visitor Susan Rizzo gifted the team a fantastic new monitor. This made teaching ultrasound much easier, as ...
03/10/2026

Petén Health visitor Susan Rizzo gifted the team a fantastic new monitor. This made teaching ultrasound much easier, as learners could see the images clearly on the screen during lecture. The monitor is a huge upgrade from the antiquated projector we had been using, and it will be useful for many of the classes we teach.
Thank you, Susan!

Dr. Robert Harris, a radiologist specializing in abdominal ultrasound, joined us for week two of the trip. His visit was...
03/10/2026

Dr. Robert Harris, a radiologist specializing in abdominal ultrasound, joined us for week two of the trip. His visit was a huge boost for our nascent POCUS (Point-of-Care Ultrasound) program.
Under Dr. Bob’s attentive guidance, the CHWs—and the primary care physicians!—became much more adept at scanning gallbladders, kidneys, bladder, uterus, ovaries, and prostate. We now have a fighting chance at diagnosing ectopic pregnancies with POCUS —and the CHWs understand the vital importance of doing so in a timely fashion to save the life of the pregnant woman.
We are deeply grateful to Dr. Bob for making the trek to Guatemala, and we hope this won’t be his last visit to Petén!

The 20 Community Health Worker students completed their week-long course in reproductive health and headed back to their...
03/10/2026

The 20 Community Health Worker students completed their week-long course in reproductive health and headed back to their villages. (This photo was taken just before they boarded buses and community trucks to return home.) They leave with new knowledge about family planning options, polycystic o***y syndrome (PCOS), and how to manage bleeding and surgical emergencies such as testicular torsion or ectopic pregnancy.
They will gather again in two months for a course on chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension—conditions that are very common and often undertreated in rural areas. In the meantime, each student will travel individually to La Casa de Salud every month for hands-on clinical experience working alongside the advanced CHWs.
Through this methodical, gradual, and well-tested three-year course of study, the students are steadily becoming important health care resources in their villages. We are delighted to watch their progress as they join the ranks of CHWs working to care for their rural communities.

As part of the reproductive health workshop, we reviewed HIV and AIDS. It is critical that Community Health Workers reco...
02/26/2026

As part of the reproductive health workshop, we reviewed HIV and AIDS. It is critical that Community Health Workers recognize the signs of HIV and understand when to refer patients for testing and treatment. Over the past decade, access to antiretroviral therapy has dramatically reduced deaths in this region. (We are concerned that recent funding changes could threaten access to these life-saving medications.)
Through interactive teaching, we reviewed how HIV is—and is not—transmitted, dispelling myths along the way. Using simple cutouts and a lively skit to explain the biology, the students worked through the science step by step.
The conversation was open, honest, and informed. Exactly what this topic deserves.

Dr. Thomas Dowlearn and the advanced Community Health Workers created a fantastic interactive session on testicular prob...
02/25/2026

Dr. Thomas Dowlearn and the advanced Community Health Workers created a fantastic interactive session on testicular problems.
Using balloons and Play-Doh, they demonstrated testicular torsion with twisted red and blue yarn, a varicocele with a handful of spaghetti, a hydrocele with a balloon filled with water, and testicular cancer with a small rock embedded in Play-Doh. A hernia was modeled with a nylon stocking filled with sand.
Simple materials. Clear anatomy. Memorable lessons!

Using our handmade teaching models, every Community Health Worker student practiced both male and female reproductive ex...
02/25/2026

Using our handmade teaching models, every Community Health Worker student practiced both male and female reproductive exams.
These skills matter! In remote villages, there is often no one else to evaluate infections, recognize warning signs, or decide when a patient needs referral for more advanced care.
With foam, fabric, yarn, and a lot of ingenuity, we created space for safe practice, careful technique, and thoughtful discussion. By the end of the session, each student had worked through the exam step by step—building both competence and confidence.

Dr. Carmen Javier led a captivating review of the reproductive health topics we’ve covered so far. Without putting any i...
02/25/2026

Dr. Carmen Javier led a captivating review of the reproductive health topics we’ve covered so far. Without putting any individual student on the spot, she challenged each of them to think critically about what information they would need to gather from a patient in order to arrive at the right diagnosis.
The students were fully engaged, and Carmen’s skill as a facilitator was on full display.
Through this approach, the CHW students revisited key topics ranging from menstrual cramps to ectopic pregnancy and cervical cancer. They strengthened not just their knowledge, but their clinical reasoning as well.

We’re having a blast creating hands-on models for this course to teach physical exam skills.Foam. Balloons. Play-Doh. Sp...
02/25/2026

We’re having a blast creating hands-on models for this course to teach physical exam skills.

Foam. Balloons. Play-Doh. Spaghetti. A Styrofoam cooler. A sock. A rock. L**e. Nylons. A lot of yarn.

With creativity—and plenty of laughter—we’ve built models for the female internal exam, the male external exam, the prostate exam, and a variety of testicular conditions.

We suspect these lessons will be hard to forget.

Here’s Dr. Carmen’s teaching aid for the menstrual cycle:Butcher paper.Marker.Masking tape.Old school.Or, in other words...
02/25/2026

Here’s Dr. Carmen’s teaching aid for the menstrual cycle:

Butcher paper.
Marker.
Masking tape.

Old school.

Or, in other words, appropriate technology.

Dr. Carmen Javier, a fourth-year internal medicine resident from Kaiser Permanente San Francisco, led a session on the m...
02/24/2026

Dr. Carmen Javier, a fourth-year internal medicine resident from Kaiser Permanente San Francisco, led a session on the menstrual cycle, walking the students through what happens in the pituitary gland, the ovaries, and the uterus.
The students listened intently. The advanced Community Health Workers said they learned details they had never fully understood before. Even the cooks listened in from the back of the room.
After an hour, Carmen tried to take a short break—but the students surrounded her with more questions. Following the break, she taught for another half hour, making sure everyone left with clarity. She did a fantastic job!

This week we are studying reproductive health. Instead of lecturing for hours, we flipped the classroom. The students di...
02/24/2026

This week we are studying reproductive health. Instead of lecturing for hours, we flipped the classroom. The students divided into three groups, each taking responsibility for a different part of reproductive anatomy and then teaching it to their peers.
For some, this was the first time studying anatomy in this level of detail. But they rose to the challenge. Together, they built clear, thoughtful presentations, and we reinforced the learning with targeted questions and discussion.
By the end of the morning, every student could trace the path of the s***m and the egg from beginning to end—confidently using terms like fallopian tubes and seminal vesicles.
Watching that confidence take root and grow is one of the most satisfying parts of this work.

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