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Zimba Medical Access

Zimba is a community in the Darien Province of Eastern Panama,

located about 6 km off the Panamerican highway.  Zimba does not

have its own health center; the community members seek health

care at the Santa Fe HealthCenter, which is maintained by Panama's

Ministry of Health, MINSA (Ministerio de Salud).  However, the health

center frequently lacks a full pharmacy and the staff regularly lacks

capacity to see all the patients each day.

 

Community Demographics

Zimba is home to about 350 people and has about 65 homes,

with an average of 5 inhabitants per home.  Zimba is a predominately

Latin community.

 

Brigade Site Information

In Zimba we hold brigades at the elementary school. The school is

still relatively small, with 3 classrooms and a lunch room. Despite the

smaller space, our first brigade there was very successful. So far we

have only had three medical/dental brigades in Zimba; they are a new

GB community since July 2013. 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 Zimba
Medical Brigades Chapter	Date	Volunteers	Charla Topics
Summer Internship 2013	July 2013	23	Family Planning
Wayne State University School of Medicine	February 2014	23	Dengue, Family Planning, & Oral Hygiene
June Global Health Summer Internship	June 2014	8	Oral Hygiene & Nutrition
University of Miami & University of Utah	May 2015	31	STIs, Dengue, & Oral Hygiene
University of Waterloo & Northwestern University*	August 2015	34	Nutrition
University of Maryville / Otterbein University	May 2016	28

 

Medical Numbers
Brigades Chapter	Patients	Healthcare Professionals	Referrals
Summer Internship 2013	-	4	0
Wayne State University School of Medicine	112	6	0
University of Miami & University of Utah	95	4	3
University of Waterloo & Northwestern University*	83	5	0
University of Maryville / Otterbein University*	68	2	1

Dental Numbers
Brigades Chapter	Patients	Extractions	Fluoride Treatments	Dental Restorations
Summer Internship 2013	-	-	-	0
Wayne State University School of Medicine	70	41	18	0
University of Miami & University of Utah	27	17	16	0
University of Waterloo & Northwestern University	53	8	41	0
University of Maryville / Otterbein University	16	11	3	0

*University divided clinic time between Zimba and another community.

 

Last Updated: December 2016

 

Visit Other Programs in Zimba

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 Zimba:

 

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