San Francisco de Peñas Blancas*

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

Overview

San Francisco de Peñas Blancas is located in the mountainous region of central Nicaragua in the department of Matagalpa. A typical house is made of wood. The community has access to a local health centre within the community, as well as both a multigrade primary and secondary school. 177 students attend the primary school with seven teachers and eight classrooms. The primary school goes up to grade 6. Following primary school, students have the option of attending secondary school up to grade 12. Currently, 50 students attend secondary school with three teachers and eight classrooms. Most people in the community work as agricultural labourers.

Global Brigades is currently working with the Medical Program in San Francisco de Peñas Blancas and has been since the first Medical Brigade in June 2017. In their communication with Global Brigades, the top three needs expressed were lack of latrines or properly functioning latrines, improvements needed to the water system, and repairs needed at the school. San Francisco de Peñas Blancas is on the waitlist for continuing Holistic Model implementation as part of Global Brigades’ strategic plan in Nicaragua.

Municipality: La Dalia
Department: Matagalpa

*Brigades to this community are temporarily suspended at this time

Homes : 159
Population : 780
Water System : Yes
Community Bank : No
Electricity : Yes
Health Center : Yes
Community Health Workers : Yes
% of Homes with Latrines : 100%
Education : Up to 12th Grade
Distance from Lodging Facility : 62 km

Medical

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

HEALTH CARE ACCESS

Healthcare access in Nicaragua is structured by the Ministry of Health, based in the capital, Managua. From there, each of the fifteen departments has its own department hospital, which is overseen by the SILAIS administrations (Sistema Local de Atención Integral en Salud). At a municipality level, there is a health centre (Centro de Salud) for every municipality within the department. While they are not hospitals, health centres in the municipality are typically staffed with one doctor, and two nurses, that can attend to patients with chronic, communicable, or noncommunicable diseases, as well as pregnancies. They, however, do not have the ability to perform surgeries.

Lastly, most but not all communities have a Puesto de Salud, a smaller health center. These health centers are usually staffed with only one nurse and a rotating physician. Physicians are staffed in these health centers by Nicaragua’s Social Service. This is an initiative that requires Nicaraguan medical students to do two years of service in rural communities prior to graduating. The physician density in Nicaragua is approximately 1,099 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.

This density is significantly lower for the 40.6% of the population that lives in rural areas. It is for this reason that Nicaragua’s Social Service initiative brings medical students to these communities. However, access remains limited since these training physicians may be assigned to up to fifteen communities at a time.  

San Francisco de Peñas Blancas has access to a health centre within their community. Even with this access, it is important to note that medications, supplies, and materials are often not available in these health centres and are dependent on government funding. There is no access to private pharmacies. Additionally, as noted above, access to trained medical professionals is limited.

During their initial communications with Global Brigades, the top three illnesses in children that San Francisco de Peñas Blancas expressed are diarrhoeal diseases, respiratory infections, and dermatitis. For adults, common illnesses are chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, as well as arthritis. Without access to trained healthcare professionals and medications, chronic diseases can go unmanaged, leading to further health problems. Acute illnesses can also be severe and affect the quality of life.

32

Volunteers

791

Patient Consultations

N/A

Vision Screenings Provided

18

Health Education Workshops

COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS

San Francisco de Peñas Blancas has three Community Health Workers that are trained by the Ministry of Health every three months. Community Health Workers, or Brigadistas de Salud, work on a volunteer basis as advocates for healthcare within their communities. They are tasked with treating and preventing common illnesses, and some of their responsibilities include first aid, supporting and caring for pregnancies and newborns, and responding to emergency situations.

They are also responsible for following up with chronic patients to ensure proper administration of medications and treatments to avoid further complications. Global Brigades is planning to establish a partnership with San Francisco de Peñas Blancas Community Health Workers and the Ministry of Health and is looking forward to providing these Community Health Workers with blood pressure cuffs, stethoscopes, glucometers, and first aid kits, to facilitate more impactful work. 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

Community members from San Francisco de Peñas Blancas attend Medical Brigades in the health center of San Francisco de Peñas Blancas. This location has rooms for triage, consultation, dentistry and pharmacy stations. 

San Francisco de Peñas Blancas offers strong support for Medical Brigades from the community volunteers. One way the 8-15 community volunteers assist is by running intake. Intake is the very first station of the clinic and is where the community volunteers write down the patient’s name, date of birth, community, and identification number. Additionally, community volunteers manage clinic organization. They set up tables and chairs in the clinic prior to the brigade’s arrival as well as direct patients to the next medical station, once the clinic has opened for the day. Lastly, community volunteers lead adult health education sessions on sanitation and hygiene, chronic diseases, contraception, Women’s health, and water purification. San Francisco de Peñas Blancas’s community volunteers are essential to the efficiency and effectiveness of Medical Brigades.

AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED PER DAY: 910
NEARBY COMMUNITIES: SAN ANTONIO, BUENOS AIRES, LA RINCONADA

MEDICAL/DENTAL VOLUNTEERS IN SAN FRANCISCO DE PEÑAS BLANCAS

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
Oregon State University Medical Brigade June 2017 32

Dental

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

DENTAL CARE ACCESS

While medical access is low, dental access is even more sparing. Dental services are not available within the community health centres, or even the municipality health centres. Instead, if a patient was needing dental care, they would be required to travel to one of the country’s fifteen department hospitals. This could be up to a 2-3 hour bus ride, with many needing to first walk or horseback ride to the bus stop.

120

Patient Consultations

86

Number of Extractions

63

Fillings Performed

15

Dental Education Workshops

BRIGADE INFORMATION

Community members from San Francisco de Peñas Blancas attend Medical Brigades in the health center of San Francisco de Peñas Blancas. This location has rooms for triage, consultation, dentistry and pharmacy stations. 

San Francisco de Peñas Blancas offers strong support for Medical Brigades from the community volunteers. One way the 8-15 community volunteers assist is by running intake. Intake is the very first station of the clinic and is where the community volunteers write down the patient’s name, date of birth, community, and identification number. Additionally, community volunteers manage clinic organization.

They set up tables and chairs in the clinic prior to the brigade’s arrival as well as direct patients to the next medical station, once the clinic has opened for the day. Lastly, community volunteers lead adult health education sessions on sanitation and hygiene, chronic diseases, contraception, Women’s health, and water purification. San Francisco de Peñas Blancas’s community volunteers are essential to the efficiency and effectiveness of Medical Brigades.

AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED PER DAY: 910
NEARBY COMMUNITIES: SAN ANTONIO, BUENOS AIRES, LA RINCONADA

BRIGADE SITE: HEALTH CENTER

MEDICAL/DENTAL VOLUNTEERS IN SAN FRANCISCO DE PEÑAS BLANCAS

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
Oregon State University Medical Brigade June 2017 32

Water

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Currently, San Francisco de Peñas Blancas has a gravity-based system. The system was built in the late 2000s and has in-home connections to 100% of households. Community members have noted that the system is in need of some minor repairs. 

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in San Francisco de Peñas Blancas 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
Type of Water System : Gravity-based with in-home connections
% of 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 San Francisco de Peñas Blancas 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 : None
Economic Activities : Agricultural labor
Existing Microenterprises : Agriculture cooperative

Public Health

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

27% of homes in San Francisco de Peñas Blancas have latrines that are in such bad condition that owners instead choose open defecation. Additionally, even more, families are without a private and safe place to bathe or other sanitation infrastructure. 

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in San Francisco de Peñas Blancas 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.

% of Homes with Latrines : 73%
% of Homes with Showers : 0%
% of Homes with Washing Station : 8%
Common House Materials : Wood

Local Reference Points

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

  • Feature