Hospitalito Atitlán Blog

Tropical Storm Agatha has caused death and destruction as mud and swollen rivers have claimed lives in Panabaj near Santiago Atitlán. Record breaking rainfall has forced the evacuation of more than 70,000 people in Guatemala. Thousands are left homeless and many are injured.Many roads in Guatemala are impassable and bridges have been destroyed. Roads near Guatemala City are considered especially dangerous due to the accumulation of volcanic ash from the eruption of the volcano Pacaya.The department of Sololá is the area most affected by mudslides, road and bridge damage in the country.  In Panajachel, several homes left standing after Stan were washed into the San Francisco River.Aurora International airport remains closed to commercial traffic because of the eruption of Pacaya, but helicopters with aid are arriving from the US, Mexico, Argentina, Columbia, Brazil and Cuba.Hospitalito Atitlán is in a state of emergency preparedness and is providing care for the injured. Please support the work with a donation. thank you. 

One of the most complicated parts of planning the new Hospitalito was the design of the electrical system that consists of three components; the electric company, the back up batteries, and the diesel generator. The planning involved the work of many so that future equipment needs would be met.  In this foto, electrician Henry Mendoza and his helper Lupe are finishing up the installation in the machine room.

 Surgeon Fernando Leiva passed away from a heart attack Saturday May 22nd.He was a great supporter of the hospital since our first days in Panabaj. He had done his internship as a doctor there in the 1980s and kept it close to his heart. Dr. Leiva was educated at Harvard and Oxford, where trained with the very best.Since the surgery room opened in 2005, Dr. Leiva has faithfully arrived to Hospitalito Atitlán every five or six weeks for elective surgery, where he offered his services for free. Dr. Leiva served as a member on the Steering Committee of the Captial Campaign, he was also a member of Club Rotario Guatemala Oeste that has offered immense support to the hospital.Dr Fernando Leiva leaves an immense space behind him, both as a personal friend and a friend of Hospitalito Atitlán.

Dr. Brent Burket began his three-year commitment to Hospitalito Atitlán this week when he started seeing patients in the clinics. Dr. Brent came from Ashland Oregon and with the help of Mission Doctors. He is working with Asiha Nnoly of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

Today everyone at Hospitalito Atitlán is welcoming a new member to our employee family. Dra. Susana Pajoc Gonzales gave birth this morning to a baby girl. Susana started her maternity leave two weeks ago. Her labor was quick and surprisingly easy, she and husband Pedro Sosof arrived at the Hospitalito, and five minutes later, their daughter was born.