Day 2

After a long day of traveling to Guatemala, we had our first night in Xela, otherwise known as Quetzaltenango, and woke up bright and early to the birds chirping at about 6 AM. Breakfast was at a local café down the street, followed by our two hour drive to Coatepeque to visit a hospital. Medical device inventories were taken and an overall tour of the hospital was given by various hospital staff along with the help of our translators. José, one of our translators, explained that there are only four doctors working at a time and the rest are nurses and students doing their residencies. The hospital in Coatepeque staffs 450 people. Hospitals are only used in severe emergencies because of the degree of difficulty for people to access them. Funding for hospitals is insufficient, and sometimes the hospital has to shut its doors and deny admittance to patients.

We had lunch at Pollo Campero and then went back to the hospital to finish our day. We toured the blood labs and then Dr. Rust gave a seminar to the hospital staff about maintaining equipment and the importance of preventative maintenance. Without proper use and housekeeping, the longevity of medical devices is decreased significantly. The importance of maintaining equipment is critical, especially in developing countries, because the possibility of repair is minimal and funding is often not available to support replacements.  Specialized technicians come once every three months for repairs, so if a vital piece of equipment gets broken the hospital sometimes has to wait for the device to be fixed.

Our two hour journey back to Xela concluded the long day at the hospital. We arrived back at the hotel and headed to dinner a couple blocks away shortly after at a local restaurant where traditional Guatemalan cuisine was enjoyed. We also celebrated Marlena’s birthday with a delicious cake. Feliz cumpleanos, Marlena!

-Alan & Dimitri