Aloha … from BetheGifford physician assistant to share experiences in rural Honduras
RANDOLPH, Feb. 11, 2009 – Last spring Gifford Medical Center physician assistant Sue Burgos, a member of the hospitalist team, spent two weeks in Honduras helping the medically underserved receive health care.
This March 18-28, Burgos returns to the Central American biodiverse and poverty-stricken country to once again provide volunteer medical care to families in and around the farming community of El Rosario. Before departing, however, she’ll share her experiences of a year ago with Gifford staff and the community during a March 12 noontime talk in the Randolph hospital’s Conference Center.
Included in the talk will be images of the central Honduran mountains region where Burgos in 2008 stayed for two weeks as part of Upper Valley-based Americans Caring Training Sharing (ACTS).
ACTS launched in 1986 and earned non-profit status in 2002. The organization’s mission is primarily establishing sustainable health, education and community development in El Rosario and now surrounding, remote communities in the Yoro region.
“The goal is to help the Hondurans to be able to help themselves,” Burgos explains.
She was part of the medical team during her prior trip and will be once again this March. Her role includes delivering primary care out of an established clinic in El Rosario with the help of Spanish-speaking translators; setting up temporary clinics in surrounding villages’ schools; promoting good health, primarily through clean water and latrine construction initiatives; and continuing ACTS health survey of the area by speaking to patients about their ailments and needs.
The majority of her work focuses on health issues resulting from poor hygiene and a lack of clean water, preventable childhood illnesses and poor growth development related to malnutrition, and common diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, she says.
She treats whole families at one time, including multiple children and mothers with a baby at their breast. It is work that is often overwhelming, but is also incredibly rewarding, she says.
In speaking to community members and her fellow Gifford providers this March, Burgos hopes not only share her experiences, but also encourage others to help or practice health care internationally.
“I love to travel, and I’ve always been interested in international health and finding out ways to achieve the same end. You do learn simpler ways of managing problems, and I think health care is a right, not a privilege,” says Burgos of why she joined ACTS and its many other area residents and health professionals who travel to Honduras regularly.
Many other Gifford providers also volunteer locally, regionally and internationally to provide free health care to the needy.
Burgos has been a health care provider at Gifford for 21 years. She lives in Bethel with her husband and 16-year-old son. In addition to her work in Honduras, her hobbies include running and hiking.
Her March 12 talk is free and open to the public. Gifford is just off Route 12 in Randolph at 44 S. Main St. The Conference Center entrance is easily accessible from the patient parking area and is marked with a green awning. Call the hospital’s main number, (802) 728-7000, for directions or visit the "Directions" section of this Web site.
Learn more about ACTS at online at actshonduras.org.