Stories From the Road: Corozal Community Hospital, Belize

Abigail Homan, Medical Student, on behalf of the Humanitarian Efforts Committee

Abigail HomanPartners for Belize is an organization dedicated to providing medical services, training, and support to improve the medical and economic self-sufficiency of communities in Northern Belize. Originating in 2004, Partners for Belize began with 36 volunteers on a combined medical and construction mission team under Dr. Jay Logeman. Since then, the program has experienced exuberant growth, later supported by physicians including Dr. Devinder S. Mangat and Dr. Rick Devore, who helped pioneer the first surgical team in 2007. Now, Partners for Belize continues to have multiple surgical trips each year.

Partners for Belize aims to serve children and families at risk, particularly those located in rural areas living with limited medical resources, medical and social services, and developmental stagnation. Through annual medical and surgical mission trips, training and education, and student support programs, Partners for Belize volunteers have served over 200 weeks in community support.

With a primary focus on Corozal, Belize, and its neighboring communities, volunteers provide care in villages and at the Corozal Community Hospital. Surgical volunteers assist with surgical workup, intraoperative, and post-operative care for patients. Care is delivered through local procedural clinics, surgical procedures, and outreach visits to community villages. The program aims to provide needed otolaryngological services and create a lasting impact that meets the needs of the Corozal community.

Location and Need

The reasons for major healthcare and resource gaps in Corozal are multifactorial. Many in this community rely on daily or limited weekly wages, resulting in little to no financial support for healthcare. Receiving little to no external government support results in limited medical resources, insufficient workforce training, low household incomes, and slow infrastructure development.

Families often lack the financial means to send their children to school, leaving many unable to complete a formal education. As a result, youth sometimes turn to alternative means of obtaining income, resources, or support, often in ways that further contribute to their exposure to significant health risks. These exposures increase their rate of injury and infection, and pose serious safety concerns, further perpetuating the cycles of poverty and poor health outcomes within the Belizean communities.

Medical staff of Corozal Community Hospital pictured with members of the Partners for Belize anesthesia team. Corozal Community Hospital is located in rural Belize, approximately two hours from Belize City. It is a public hospital providing basic medical care, limited emergency services, and maternity care. Medical supplies and resources are limited, and not all specialties are fully supplied with the necessary equipment. For advanced medical procedures and treatments, patients often must travel to larger cities, such as Belize City, or to neighboring countries.

These disparities contribute to the unmet medical needs among the children and families in the Corozal community. Partners for Belize aims to improve healthcare access for families in the Corozal communities through a series of surgical mission trips that provide much-needed otolaryngological services.

Specialized Care With a Global Reach

My week at the Corozal Community Hospital was a powerful reminder of the ongoing need for global health outreach and education. After a long day of travel, we arrived in Belize City. We immediately began our travel to Corozal, where we would spend the next seven days working alongside the local community.

Operating room in Corozal Community Hospital, with Dr. Tsung-yen Hsieh, Amanda Morrison, RN, and Colleen Smith, MA, preparing the OR and reviewing surgical kits and tools.The week began with a full day dedicated to unpacking supplies, preparing the surgical OR, and screening patients. Using the clinical rooms at Corozal Community Hospital, our providers, Tsung-yen Hsieh, MD, and Umesh S. Marathe, MD, and Dr. Mangat screened and provided consultations to more than 75 Corozal community members to identify community health needs, develop surgical OR plans, and establish the operating schedule for the coming week.

We arranged supplies for the local procedural room and organized surgical instruments and materials for the two operating rooms. By the end of the day, we had developed a comprehensive patient list and schedule for both local and general anesthetic procedures, ensuring that all surgical plans were in place for the busy week ahead.

Partners For Belize medical team during a thyroid goiter removal, including surgeon Dr. Marathe, Abigail Homan, and Colleen Smith, MA.Throughout the week, our team of surgeons and clinical staff worked closely with the Corozal medical team to support and complete more than 30 local anesthetic and surgical OR procedures. Our cases this week included a range of otolaryngological procedures, including advanced facial reconstructions, cleft lip revisions, rhinoplasties, tonsillectomies, and other necessary procedures. Outside the OR, we also met with local communities, discussed educational opportunities for families, and spent time learning about community life and culture.

The patients we met and cared for created a lasting impact. We treated a man who had lost most of his facial structure due to a devastating infection from a Bot fly, who had not been able to receive proper care. During our visit, this man received an advanced facial and flap reconstruction to address the extent of the disease and restore facial structure. Months later, members of our team returned to complete an additional staged surgical procedure to further reconstruct and restore his face for better function.

Members of Partners for Belize surgical and anesthesia team in the Corozal Community Hospital PACU.

This experience is why Partners for Belize volunteers often rearrange their schedules to make this program a top priority each year. Sharing invaluable knowledge and creating lasting memories speaks to the profound impact this trip has on both the community and our volunteers. From conversations with patients to bonding moments between procedures, our lives were transformed, as we carry a commitment that shapes how we care for our future patients.

Personal Insights and Reflections

As a medical student, I am grateful and humbled to have learned from such an exceptional team of physicians and staff. Many of the procedures and cases were not straightforward and required complex, real-time problem-solving and anatomical reconstruction. Beyond the technical aspects of care, education throughout the week was bidirectional between the Corozal community and our medical team. While providing care for our patients, we gained invaluable insights into their culture and the daily lives of people in Corozal.

It was an honor and a privilege to take part in this surgical program, and I am grateful to the patients and staff for creating such a welcoming environment and for the invaluable knowledge I gained throughout this experience. We look forward to continuing this partnership with the Corozal community and strengthening these relationships for years to come.

Program Details

Requirements: Please visit the program website for the most up-to-date information.

Typical Service Commitment: one to two weeks

Clinical Emphasis:

• Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

• General Otolaryngology

• Head and Neck Surgery

Financial Aspects: The trip costs $2,300 per person. The cost includes airfare, food, seven nights of hotel lodging, administration, and supplies.

Language Skills: English, Spanish

Global Region: Central America

Services Provided:

• Surgery

• In-office (local anesthetic) procedures

Coordinator Contact Information

Name: John Kirby
Email: p4mrelief@gmail.com
Phone: 513.200.6464

For more information about surgical mission trips in Belize, please visit the Partners for Belize website: https://partnersforbelize.com/upcoming-trips/