The DOCS FOR HOPE STORY
Dr. April with patients at Hospital Adonai
DOCS for Hope began as a group of residents at Via Christi Family Medicine Residency who shared a passion for full spectrum family medicine with obstetrics and medical missions. After completing residency, our physicians sensed a need to further expand the skill set of primary care physicians. To this end, we founded the Via Christi International Family Medicine Fellowship (http://www.vcfm.net/fellowships/international-medicine-fellowship/), which continues to prepare family medicine doctors for service in some of the world’s toughest places.
The current unique practice of medicine allows our physicians to serve as medical missionaries 2-3 months of the year, while maintaining service to our rural community during the remainder of the year on a “mission rotation” schedule. This blended rural practice and missions medicine has been a great success in terms of integrating our families into both small town Iowa and rural Guatemala. We continue to build relationships in both communities which grow deeper as time passes by.
In 2013 DOCS for Hope joined with Adonai International Ministries (http://www.adonaiinternationalministries.org/) in the process of building a hospital in rural Canillá, Guatemala. Canillá is a rural, mountainous community surrounded by hundreds of thousands of indigenous Mayan poor with little to no health care access. Poor infrastructure and lack of healthcare personnel contribute to high maternal and pediatric morbidity and mortality. Since 2013, God has moved in incredible ways to provide the resources needed for construction and service to the local population. We are truly humbled by the outpouring of generous support from many donors, great and small.
We have watched in amazement over the past four years as the hospital grounds were transformed from cow pasture into a capable, modern 10,000 sq. ft. hospital. The hospital is now home to various outpatient services for the community and rural poor who live in the valley surrounding Canillá. What is currently a women’s health and pediatric outpatient facility is being transformed into a full service hospital which will include operative obstetric, neonatal, surgical, emergency, and inpatient services as well.
We feel this opportunity to bring hope to people who have endured much suffering is well worth the cost. We hope that you would join us in whatever capacity you are able, and we thank you for your time invested in learning more about DOCS for Hope!
DOCS for Hope is a registered 501(c)(3) not for profit corporation
The current unique practice of medicine allows our physicians to serve as medical missionaries 2-3 months of the year, while maintaining service to our rural community during the remainder of the year on a “mission rotation” schedule. This blended rural practice and missions medicine has been a great success in terms of integrating our families into both small town Iowa and rural Guatemala. We continue to build relationships in both communities which grow deeper as time passes by.
In 2013 DOCS for Hope joined with Adonai International Ministries (http://www.adonaiinternationalministries.org/) in the process of building a hospital in rural Canillá, Guatemala. Canillá is a rural, mountainous community surrounded by hundreds of thousands of indigenous Mayan poor with little to no health care access. Poor infrastructure and lack of healthcare personnel contribute to high maternal and pediatric morbidity and mortality. Since 2013, God has moved in incredible ways to provide the resources needed for construction and service to the local population. We are truly humbled by the outpouring of generous support from many donors, great and small.
We have watched in amazement over the past four years as the hospital grounds were transformed from cow pasture into a capable, modern 10,000 sq. ft. hospital. The hospital is now home to various outpatient services for the community and rural poor who live in the valley surrounding Canillá. What is currently a women’s health and pediatric outpatient facility is being transformed into a full service hospital which will include operative obstetric, neonatal, surgical, emergency, and inpatient services as well.
We feel this opportunity to bring hope to people who have endured much suffering is well worth the cost. We hope that you would join us in whatever capacity you are able, and we thank you for your time invested in learning more about DOCS for Hope!
DOCS for Hope is a registered 501(c)(3) not for profit corporation