This post continues with the theme of ACCESS with a focus on TRANSPORTATION.
Our clinic can be staffed with an amazing team available to care for patients 24/7/365, but if acutely ill patients do not have access to transportation in order to facilitate their arrival on-site then the end result is similar to that of services being unavailable.
Inaccessible healthcare is equivalent to no healthcare.
Earlier this year we received a generous grant providing financial support for the purchase of an ambulance for our medical center. Above is a brief video of that vehicle arriving at the dealership here in Guatemala a couple of days ago. In the next few weeks, a local company will convert the vehicle into an ambulance (signage, lights, etc.) and thereafter we will be able to begin offering transportation to patients.
The vision for the ambulance is to both bring sick patients to our center for acute care as well as accompany patients in need of subspecialty care not immediately available at our center to larger tertiary centers in more urban areas such as Guatemala City.
In short, ACCESS to healthcare in our corner of Guatemala is rapidly improving.