Many interwoven socioeconomic, educational and cultural barriers prevent access to equal healthcare within the US and the global community. As a first year medical student, I hope to address some of these issues by volunteering and working directly with patients. 

This summer, I will be traveling with 4 fellow Loyola Stritch medical students and physicians to Bolivia in order to provide care to patients at the Centro Medico Humberto Parra. This clinic serves over 3,000 patients every year, with some traveling for hours to receive care. We will partner with local health care professionals in the clinic and community. Our work in urban Santa Cruz and rural Palacios will promote public health education of endemic diseases such as Zika, Dengue fever and Chagas, as well as nutrition, vaccinations, diabetes prevention, sexual health and women's health (pap smears etc). 

In addition to providing care and medication to patients in the clinic, my interactions with Bolivians in the community will help me to learn more about their unique barriers to healthcare. This experience will serve as the foundation for my Global Health Honors project, which I will develop throughout my four years of medical school. I am extraordinarily grateful for the support I have received thus far, which will allow my team to bring medication and care to the clinic and travel back and forth between Santa Cruz and Palacios. Thank you for considering to donate to support me on this service mission and the Centro Medico Humberto Parra Clinic.