Portuchada Medical Access
| General Overview | |
|---|---|
| Population | 502 |
| Number of Houses | 134 |
| Student Volunteers* | 246 |
| Community Medical Access | Centro de Salud - Meteti |
| Brigade Site | School |
| Most Common Illnesses | Parasites, Muscular Pain, Common Cold |
| Most Recent Brigade | May 2015 |
|
*refers to approximate number of volunteers since 2011 as data is not available prior to 2011. |
|
| Additional Information | |
| General Community Profile | |
| Pre-Brigade Curriculum | |
| Pre-Brigade Lesson Plan | |
Portuchada is a community in the Darien Province of Eastern Panama,
located right off of the Panamerican highway. Portuchada does not
have its own health center; the community members seek health
care at the Meteti Health Center, which is maintained by Panama's
Ministry of Health, MINSA (Ministerio de Salud). This health care center
is approximately a 15-20 minute drive from Portuchada. However, the
health center frequently lacks a full pharmacy and the staff regularly lacks
capacity to see all the patients each day.
Community Demographics
Portuchada is home to about 500 people and has about 130 homes,
with an average of 3-4 inhabitants per home. Portuchada is a predominately
Latin community.
Brigade Site Information
In Aguas Frias we hold brigades at the elementary school. The school is
relatively large, with 9 classrooms, a computer lab, a teachers' office,
a library, a kitchen, a playground, and a lunch room. Global Brigades
Panama has worked in Portuchada for many years. Volunteers will
see an average of 90 patients per day, and doctors typically spend about
15 minutes with each family. Brigades are able to provide an average
of 5-6 adult charlas a day, totaling about 6 hours of adult health education
each brigade.
Past Brigades Information and Statistics
| Medical/Dental Brigades Chapters that Worked in Portuchada |
|||
| Medical Brigades Chapter | Date | Volunteers | Charla Topics |
| University of Colorado | March 2012 | 47 | - |
| Mayo Medical School | July 2012 | 41 | - |
| Grinnell College | March 2013 | 31 | - |
| University of Washington & University of Oxford | August 2013 | 51 | - |
| University of Illinois at Chicago | March 2014 | 33 | Oral Hygiene, Safe Sex, Dengue, & Nutrition |
| Dalhousie | August 2014 | 20 | Oral Hygiene & Washing Hands |
| Indiana University | May 2015 | 23 | STIs & Oral Hygiene |
| Texas Tech Univeristy* | May 2016 | 32 | |
| Medical Numbers |
|||
| Brigades Chapter | Patients | Healthcare Professionals | Referrals |
| University of Colorado | 669 | 4 | 0 |
| Mayo Medical School | 632 | 4 | 0 |
| Grinnell College | 356 | 4 | 0 |
| University of Washington & University of Oxford | 209 | 4 | 0 |
| University of Illinois at Chicago | 371 | 5 | 0 |
| Dalhousie University | 301 | 5 | 1 |
| Indiana University | 373 | 4 | 3 |
| Texas Tech University* | 529 | 4 | |
| Dental Numbers |
||||
| Brigades Chapter | Patients | Extractions | Fluoride Treatments |
Dental Restorations |
| Grinnell College | 231 | 92 | 98 | 0 |
| University of Washington & University of Oxford | - | - | - | 0 |
| University of Illinois at Chicago | 213 | 47 | 104 | 51 |
| Dalhousie University | - | 35 | 12 | 12 |
| Indiana University | 125 | 56 | 44 | 0 |
| Texas Tech University * | 216 | 64 | 89 | 1 |
*indicates that group split time between two communities
Last Visit: April 2017
Visit Other Programs in Portuchada
Global Brigades strives to implement a model of Holistic Development in communities through a system of collectively implementing health, economic, and education initiatives to strategically meet a community's development goals. Learn more about the other programs being implemented in Portuchada:
Business 
Environmental 
Human Rights
Microfinance
Public Health