Potrerillos, Teupasenti

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

Overview

Portrerillos is located within the municipality of Teupasenti in the department of El Paraíso in Central Honduras. The typical house is made of adobe. Children in the community have access to Centro Básico, or up to ninth grade. Most of the community members work in agrigulture. The top needs expressed by Portrerillos’s inhabitants during their initial communications with Global Brigades include acess to financial services and economic development, improvements to the water system, and implementation of public health infrastructure.

Municipality: Teupasenti
Department: El Paraíso 

Homes : 150
Population : 700
Water System : Yes
Community Bank : Yes
Electricity : Yes
Health Center : Yes
Community Health Workers : No
Homes with Latrines : 15 %
Education : Up to 9th grade
Distance from Lodging Facility : 71 km

Medical

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

HEALTH CARE ACCESS

The Honduran government provides two different types of health centers throughout rural Honduras: Centros de Salud Médico Odontológico (CESAMOs) and Centros de Salud Rural (CESARs). CESAMOs 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. CESARs are found sporadically in rural communities and generally have a single nurse available. Even with this coverage, it is important to note that medications, supplies, and materials are often not available in these health centers and the physician density in Honduras remains at around 1,220 people for every 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.

There is a CESAR in the community of Potrerillos. The most common illnesses reported by community members include diarrhoea, respiratory illness, diabetes, and arterial hypertension.

272

Volunteers

5,298

Patient Consulations

712

Vision Screenings Provided

213

Health Education Workshops

COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS

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

BRIGADE INFORMATION

Community members in Portrerillos attend Medical and Dental Brigade clinics hosted in the community’s school building. The various stations of the clinic are held in the school’s 12 classrooms. Doctors are able to spend an average of ten minutes with each patient. Each day of the brigade, an average of 14 educational charlas are facilitated with the clinic’s patients.

AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED: 842
NEARBY COMMUNITIES: LAS FLORES, LAS CORTINAS, QUEBRADITAS, ZAPOTILLOS, LOS ENCANTOS, SAN LORENZO, SAN JOSE DEL PORTRERO

MEDICAL/DENTAL VOLUNTEERS IN POTRERILLOS, TEUPASENTI

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
McMaster University Medical brigade April 2018 37 Bowling Green State University Medical Brigade & Texas Tech University Medical Brigade & University of Waterloo Medical Brigade August 2018 39
NYVT Nurses Unite Medical Brigade March 2019 38 Towson University Dental Brigade & University of Waterloo Medical Brigade & University of Ontario Institute of Technology Medical Brigade August 2019 27
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Medical Chapter October 2021 12 Vanderbilt University Engineering March 2022 15
University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Brigade December 2022 23 University of Tennessee January 2024 15

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.

882

Patient Consultations

694

Number of Extractions

257

Fillings Performed

131

Dental Education Workshop

BRIGADE INFORMATION

Community members in Portrerillos attend Medical and Dental Brigade clinics hosted in the community’s school building. The various stations of the clinic are held in the school’s 12 classrooms. Doctors are able to spend an average of ten minutes with each patient. Each day of the brigade, an average of 14 educational charlas are facilitated with the clinic’s patients.

AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED: 842
NEARBY COMMUNITIES: LAS FLORES, LAS CORTINAS, QUEBRADITAS, ZAPOTILLOS, LOS ENCANTOS, SAN LORENZO, SAN JOSE DEL PORTRERO

MEDICAL/DENTAL VOLUNTEERS IN POTRERILLOS, TEUPASENTI

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
McMaster University Medical brigade April 2018 37 Bowling Green State University Medical Brigade & Texas Tech University Medical Brigade & University of Waterloo Medical Brigade August 2018 39
NYVT Nurses Unite Medical Brigade March 2019 38 Towson University Dental Brigade & University of Waterloo Medical Brigade & University of Ontario Institute of Technology Medical Brigade August 2019 27
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Medical Chapter October 2021 12 University of Vanderbilt Engineering March 2022 15
University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Brigade December 2022 23 University of Tennessee January 2024 15

Engineering

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Potrerillos, Teupasenti but has not yet begun with the Engineering Program. Now in the planning phase, the evaluation of the community’s existing water system and design of any necessary improvements will start as soon as feasible.

Water System : Yes
Type of System : Gravity
Homes with Access to Water : 100 %
Water Council : Yes

Water

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Potrerillos, Teupasenti but has not yet begun with the Water Program. Now in the planning phase, the implementation of any improvements to the community’s existing water system will follow the Engineering Program’s assessment and start as soon as feasible.

Water System : Yes
Type of System : Gravity
Homes with Access to Water : 100 %
Water Council : Yes

Business

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Potrerillos, Teupasenti but has not yet begun with the Business Program. Now in the planning phase, the Business Program will conduct an evaluation of the existing community bank as soon as feasible, followed by market studies and investment in an anchor business to provide additional capital.

Community Bank : Yes
Community Bank Members : N/A
Economic Activities : Agriculture, Coffee Growing, Day Laborer
Existing Microenterprises : N/A

Public Health

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

POTRERILLOS’ PUBLIC HEALTH CHALLENGE

Many community members in Potrerillos lacked the necessary resources to improve their homes and prevent diseases caused by unsafe living conditions. The majority of homes were made of adobe, straw, and mud, and few homes had hygiene stations, cement floors, or eco-stoves prior to the arrival of Global Brigades. These living conditions resulted in disease. The lack of hygiene stations led to high rates of diarrhea and water-borne disease, the absence of cement floors caused parasitic infection and Chagas Disease, and the lack of eco-stoves resulted in respiratory problems in many community members.

Although community members recognized the problems inherent to their living environments, they did not have the economic resources nor the technical knowledge needed to address them. It also was necessary to increase the level of awareness concerning sanitation and the importance of health in the community.

87

Volunteers

N/A

Sanitation Units Installed

N/A

People Benefitted with Public Health Infrastructure

N/A

Hours of Public Health Education

PUBLIC HEALTH VOLUNTEERS IN POTRERILLOS

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
Michigan State University Medical Brigade March 2017 38 Washington University in St. Louis Medical Brigade March 2017 26
New Hampshire Area Medical Brigade March 2017 23

Local Reference Points

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

  • Feature

The Largest Movement for Global Health and Holistic Development

“Global Brigades” refers to one or more Global Brigades entities, each of which is a separate and independent legal entity; “Global Brigades, Inc.,” “Global Brigades Health and Development,” “Global Brigades UK,” “GBO Ghana,” “Asociacion Global Brigadas de Honduras,” and “Fundacion Brigadas Globales de Panama”. Global Brigades Health and Development (“Global Brigades Canada”) is a federally registered Canadian charity independent from Global Brigades Inc.

Guidestar 2021