Los Pilares

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

Overview

Los Pilares is located in the province of Coclé, in the western part of Panama. A typical house in Los Pilares is made of wood. Los Pilares has a primary school that offers kindergarten to 6th grade, and then children must walk one hour to access the nearest middle school. Most of the community members work in agriculture, farming coffee, plantains and rice. There is a health outpost in the community, and the nearest health clinic is one hour away by bus. Los Pilares has a gravity-fed aqueduct, but access to water to water is intermittent in the rainy season. The top needs expressed by the community were improvements to healthcare, water, and sanitation.

District: Penonome
Province: Coclé

Homes : 45
Population : 350
Water System : Yes
Community Bank : No
Electricity : No
Health Center : No
Community Health Workers : No
Homes with Latrines : 100%
Education : Up to 6th grade
Distance from Panama City : 2.5 hours

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.

Los Pilares has a Puesto de Salud in the community, and the nearest Centro de Salud is an hour away by bus. The most prevalent illnesses in Los Pilares are stomach aches and colds.

21

Volunteers

83

Patient Consultations

N/A

Vision Screenings Provided

2

Health Education Workshops

COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS

A group of CHWs from East Panama, trained in 2019

The community of Los Pilares 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. Los Pilares 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

A brigader shadows a patient consultation in El Jobo, West Panama.

Medical and Dental Brigade clinics are hosted in Las Lajas’ school building. The various stations of the clinic are held in the classrooms. Volunteers assist with intake and triage, then shadow local doctors, dentists, and pharmacists. Each day of the brigade, an average of 2 educational workshops or charlas are facilitated with the clinic’s patients.

  • AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED: 216

MEDICAL/DENTAL VOLUNTEERS IN LOS PILARES

Chapter Date Number of Volunteers Chapter Date Number of Volunteers
Boston College Medical Jan 2020 21

Dental

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

DENTAL CARE ACCESS

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.

86

Dental Patient Consultations

48

Extractions

N/A

Fillings Performed

38

Fluoride Treatments

BRIGADE INFORMATION

A dental charla in Ipeti Emberá, Panama

Medical and Dental Brigade clinics are hosted in Las Lajas’ school building. The various stations of the clinic are held in the classrooms. Volunteers assist with intake and triage, then shadow local doctors, dentists, and pharmacists. Each day of the brigade, an average of 2 educational workshops or charlas are facilitated with the clinic’s patients.

  • AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED: 216

MEDICAL/DENTAL VOLUNTEERS IN LOS PILARES

Chapter Date Number of Volunteers Chapter Date Number of Volunteers
Boston College Medical Jan 2020 21

Water

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Los Pilares 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

LOS PILARES’ ECONOMIC CHALLENGE

Community members in Los Pilares lack access to financial resources within the community. The majority of community members do not have bank accounts and there are only limited informal forms of credit available.  For example, a person could obtain ‘credit’ at a local store by buying something now and paying later, simply adding it to their ‘tab,’ but there would be no formalized credit transaction.  Larger financial institutions do not approve loans to community members without a fixed income, making it difficult for local micro-enterprises to grow and thrive. Most community members cite the distance to the nearest bank as the main discouragement to having a personal savings account. Even if individuals wish to travel the distance, not all community members can become members of these financial institutions–cooperatives require monthly membership fees, savings accounts often require a fixed income, and the cost of travel provides an additional barrier.

Community Bank : Yes
Economic Activities : agriculture
Existing microenterprises : 2 kiosks

Public Health

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Los Pilares 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 : 100%
Homes with latrines : N/A
Homes with bath/shower : 100%
Common house materials : concrete blocks, wood

Local Reference Points

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

  • Feature