Santa Rita

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

Overview

Santa Rita is located in the province of Coclé, in the western part of Panama. A typical house in this community is made of cement blocks. Santa Rita has a school that offers kindergarten to 12th grade. The primary occupations in Santa Rita are construction technicians, manual labor (uncertified), or work in neighboring touristic areas. Families grow crops only for personal consumption. There is a health center in the community. Santa Rita has a functioning gravity water system, but arrival of water to the different sectors of the community is irregular. The top needs expressed by the community were improvements to the main road, neighborhood safety, and water irregularity.

District: Antón
Province: Coclé

*The above image of a landscape in Coclé, Panama does not necessarily reflect the appearance of the community of Santa Rita.

Homes : 500
Population : 3000
Water System : Yes
Community Bank : No
Electricity : Yes
Health Center : Yes
Community Health Workers : No
Homes with Latrines : 70%
Education : Up to 12th grade
Distance from Panama City : 2 hrs

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.

Santa Rita has a Centro de Salud in the community. The most prevalent illnesses in Santa Rita, as expressed by community members, are colds, hypertension, vomiting, and diarrhea.

208

Volunteers

1,283

Patient Consultations

N/A

Vision Screenings Provided

138

Health Education Workshops

COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS

A group of CHWs from East Panama, trained in 2019

The community of Santa Rita 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. Santa Rita 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 Santa Rita’s 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 14 educational workshops or charlas are facilitated with the clinic’s patients.

  • AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED: 277

MEDICAL/DENTAL VOLUNTEERS IN SANTA RITA

Chapter Date Number of Volunteers Chapter Date Number of Volunteers
Sherman & University of Miami Medical Brigade May 2016 32 Pennsylvania State University Hershey College of Medicine Medical Brigade March 2017 42
University of Colorado Boulder Medical Brigade January 2019 55 City University of New York (CUNY) Brooklyn College Medical Brigade June 2019 21
Southern Connecticut State University Medical January 2020 15 Columbia University Medical Jan 2020 10
Marquette University Medical Brigade May 2022 33

Dental

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

DENTAL CARE ACCESS

A dental charla in Ipeti Emberá, 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.

570

Dental Patient Consultations

188

Extractions

13

Fillings

228

Fluoride Treatments

BRIGADE INFORMATION

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

Medical and Dental Brigade clinics are hosted in Santa Rita’s 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 14 educational workshops or charlas are facilitated with the clinic’s patients.

  • AVERAGE PATIENTS ATTENDED: 277

MEDICAL/DENTAL VOLUNTEERS IN SANTA RITA

Chapter Date Number of Volunteers Chapter Date Number of Volunteers
Sherman & University of Miami Medical Brigade May 2016 32 Pennsylvania State University Hershey College of Medicine Medical Brigade March 2017 42
University of Colorado Boulder Medical Brigade January 2019 55 City University of New York (CUNY) Brooklyn College Medical Brigade June 2019 21
Southern Connecticut State University Medical January 2020 15 Columbia University Medical Jan 2020 10

Water

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Santa Rita 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 : 90%
Water Council : Yes

Business

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Santa Rita 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 : manual labor
Existing microenterprises : 10 small stores

Public Health

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Santa Rita 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 toilet : 70%
Homes with latrine : 99%
Homes with bath/shower : N/A
Common house materials : concrete blocks, zinc

Local Reference Points

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

  • Feature