It occured to me that readers may enjoy seeing a sampling of an "average" day at our center. I picked a random Thursday from a few weeks ago. Below is a list of presenting problems, per review of our Electronic Medical Record (EMR), which is an iPad based system, drChrono. (we don't necessarily have a strong preference for the particular system... they happened to have a free version when we opened the clinic and we do tend to have a strong preference for "free" :) Total Pa

We recently went to the beach. I almost didn't come back. My father-in-law, Papá Juan, turned 70. To celebrate his birthday he wanted to go to the beach. So, we went to a beach a couple of hours from our home... 30 of us. Josefina and our kids, her parents, her sisters and their spouses and children. We had a brief, but fun stay that included playing in the pool, strolling on the beach, splashing in the waves, and celebrating Papá Juan's 70th. But, things got dicey a c

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of conversing with Alex Wilson, a journalist for the VC Reporter. Alex was working on an article highlighting the Ventura County Family Medicine Program and wanted to use our site as an example of the positive impact the training provided via the VCMC program can have both locally and globally. That article was recently published and, while I am certainly biased, I believe it is a superb piece of writing and we are honored to be included.

On Valentine's Day, somewhat ironically, we spent most of the day caring for a patient with a broken heart ... and a broken liver... and broken kidneys. Jose, pictured below, is a 57yo male with a history of cirrhosis and symptomatic ascites. (in case you're curious, his sweatshirt reads: "Apparently I have an attitude problem" : ) Unfortunately, liver disease is not his lone pathology. He also suffers from heart failure. A sampling of his echocardiogram on day of p

For the inaugural post of 2026, we'll look at what is arguably the holy grail for nonprofits: IMPACT. Specifically, we will explore some of the highlights of Ann Mei Chang's challenging and inspiring book, Lean Impact: How to Innovate Radically Greater Social Good . (1) The book is divided into three parts. Part I, "Inspire," makes that case that audacious goals and a relentless drive to maximize impact are as important as, if not more important than, altruism in our p

Understanding Malnutrition in Guatemala According to the World Food Programme, Guatemala has the highest rate of malnutrition in Latin America and the Caribbean. Nearly half of the children under 5 suffer from stunting. This alarming statistic is even more pronounced among children from rural, indigenous communities. Kevin, a bright 4-year-old boy, recently visited our clinic. He weighed just 23 pounds, which is a little over half of what an average 4-year-old should weigh. T

Direct Relief HQ, photo from Google Maps Since before our site registered its first patient, we have been blessed to receive support from Direct Relief- a nonprofit organization based in Santa Barbara, California doing incredible work all around the globe. Direct Relief helped us equip our center and since opening our doors we have received several shipments of medicine and supplies from Direct Relief each year. In October of this year, we had the opportunity to spend a

Guatemala, like many of its neighbors in Central America, has enjoyed a nearly four decade run without cases of myiasis (maggot...

What is the "cold chain"? Thought you would never ask... per our friends at Wikipedia: A cold chain is a supply chain that uses...

A few days ago in a rather unexpected twist we combined two of our site's featured services: Ambulance/EMS and Medical Student...

Earlier this month I saw a patient, Encarnación (pictured below), who I had not seen in several years. She and her husband...

All modern international protocols guiding management of cardiac arrest revolve around more or less the same recipe: High quality chest...

This special Father's Day entry deviates a bit from some of our typical clinical fare to pay tribute to the original Doctor Self ...

A couple of weeks ago a 40yo female presented to our clinic with lower abdominal discomfort. Physical exam was notable for abdominal...

Here's a brief sampling of the short film Big Picture Media Company put together after a recent visit. Enjoy! Stay tuned for the full...

Meet Manuel (pictured above). When he first presented to clinic he weighed 107 pounds and had a blood glucose of over 400mg/dL. Upon...

Some exciting news arrived in my inbox recently. I will be heading back to school this July! To paraphrase ( very loosely ) Lebron...

A couple of weeks ago an adolescent male patient presented accompanied by his mother. Our patient had reportedly managed to lodge a...

One of our foundational goals is to improve access to high quality healthcare in rural Guatemala. As highlighted in a prior blog post,...