El Aguila Arriba

  • Overview
  • Medical
  • Dental
  • Water
  • Business
  • Public Health

Overview

El Aguila is located in the province of Coclé, in the western part of Panama. A typical house in this community is made of cement blocks. El Aguila has a school that offers kindergarten to 6th grade. Children must walk one hour to attend the nearest middle school. Most of the community members work in agriculture, farming coffee, corn, root vegetables, and tending livestock. The nearest health center is 120 minutes away walking or 15 minutes by bus. El Aguila has a gravity-fed aqueduct, but arrival of water to households is irregular, especially in the rainy season. The top needs expressed by the community were improvements to healthcare and public sanitation.

District: Penonome
Province: Coclé

Homes : 70
Population : 150
Water System : Yes
Community Bank : No
Electricity : Some
Health Center : No
Community Health Workers : No
Homes with Latrines : 80%
Education : Up to 6th grade
Distance from lodging facility : 45 minutes

Medical

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

HEALTH CARE ACCESS

Even though Panama is a country with a lot of economic growth, this growth does not apply equally to all Panamanians, especially those in rural areas. This results in stark inequality when it comes to healthcare access. The Panamanian Ministry of Health (MINSA) provides two different types of health facilities throughout rural Panama: Centros de Salud and Puestos de Salud. Centros are the larger of the two, often found in municipalities, and typically have at least one physician on staff at all times with nurses and potentially a dentist. Puestos are found sporadically in rural communities and generally have a single nurse available. 

Even with this coverage, the Centros frequently lack a full pharmacy and the staff capacity to see every patient each day. After walking long distances or paying for a bus, rural visitors to the Centros can expect long wait times given the limited staff and resources to meet the demand from all neighboring communities. The physician density in Panama remains around 630 people for every one doctor. According to the World Health Organization, there should be a maximum of 435 people per physician to qualify a country as having adequate access to medical attention.

The nearest Centro de Salud for El Aguila is in the town of Caimito or El Valle. This means community members must wait and pay up to $7.50 for a bus every time they need to see a doctor or dentist. The most common illness reported by community members of El Aquila is fever.

43

Volunteers

282

Patient Consultations

49

Vision Screenings Provided

40

Health Education Workshops

COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS

A group of CHWs from East Panama, trained in 2019

The community of El Aguila does not yet have Community Health Workers. Global Brigades Panama Medical Program is working diligently to train volunteers as CHWs in its partner communities as part of the Holistic Model. El Aguila will receive training as soon as possible to further support the health of its community members.

Community Health Workers, or Agentes Comunitarios en Salud (ACeS), work on a volunteer basis as advocates for healthcare within their communities. Their primary responsibilities include: educating community members to prevent common illnesses, providing emergency first aid, supporting pregnant mothers and newborns, and following up with chronic patients. The presence of these volunteers and their advocacy for health within their community contributes to the sustainability of healthcare supported by Global Brigades’ Medical Program and is one of the most impactful disease prevention strategies in rural communities.

BRIGADE INFORMATION

El Aguila Arriba’s school where clinics are hosted

Medical and Dental Brigade clinics are hosted in El Aguila’s school building. The various stations of the clinic are held in the classrooms. Each day of the brigade, an average of 10 educational workshops or charlas are facilitated with the clinic’s patients.

  • AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED: 235

MEDICAL/DENTAL VOLUNTEERS IN EL AGUILA

Chapter Date Number of Volunteers Chapter Date Number of Volunteers
University of Maryland Baltimore Medical January 2020 25 University of Texas at Austin Medical Brigade March 2022 18

Dental

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

DENTAL CARE ACCESS

A brigader facilitates a dental health charla in Tranquilla, Panama

Working closely with the Medical Program, the Dental Program provides fillings, extractions, and fluoride treatments as a standard part of medical brigades. Most community members do not have regular access to dental care due to the lack of a dentist within a reasonable distance.

75

Dental Patient Consultations

21

Extractions

69

Fluoride Treatments

El Aguila Arriba’s school where clinics are hosted

BRIGADE INFORMATION

Medical and Dental Brigade clinics are hosted in El Aguila’s school building. The various stations of the clinic are held in the classrooms. Each day of the brigade, an average of 10 educational workshops or charlas are facilitated with the clinic’s patients.

  • AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED: 235

MEDICAL/DENTAL VOLUNTEERS IN EL AGUILA

Chapter Date Number of Volunteers Chapter Date Number of Volunteers
University of Maryland Baltimore Medical Jan 2020 25

Water

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in El Aguila but has not yet begun with the Water Program. Now in the planning phase, the financing, delivery, and installation of a water system infrastructure, or repairs to existing infrastructure will start as soon as feasible.

Water System : Yes
System Type : Gravity aqueduct
Homes connected to water : 100%
Water Council : Yes

Business

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in El Aguila but has not yet begun with the Business Program. In the planning phase, local staff is working with community members to assess the economic needs of the community, establish a community bank, and identify micro-enterprises that can benefit from on-brigade consultations.

Community Bank : No
Community Bank Members : N/A
Economic Activities : Farming corn, coffee, plantains
Existing microenterprises : 1 artisan craft shop, 1 kiosk

Public Health

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in El Aguila but has not yet begun with the Public Health Program. Now in the planning phase, the financing, delivery, and installation of household health infrastructure products will start as soon as feasible. 

Homes with flushing toilets : 80%
Homes with latrines : N/A
Homes with baths/showers : N/A
Common house materials : concrete blocks

Local Reference Points

View the map to see the closest volunteer lodging facilities, hospitals, and other relevant points of reference.

  • Feature