Rural Clinic Triples Emergency Care Capacity with Mobile Diagnostics
In the eight months since the clinic visit, the center has handled over 900 emergency cases in-house — triple its previous capacity. The portable X-ray has diagnosed 140 fractures that would have required evacuation, and the ultrasound has identified 22 cases of internal bleeding or ectopic pregnancy that were treated before they became fatal. Zero patients have died in transit. The clinic is now the referral hub for six smaller satellite posts in the surrounding mountains.
The Challenge
San Juan Community Health Center is the only medical facility serving 30,000 people across the remote highlands of Intibucá. For years, the clinic had no diagnostic equipment — no X-ray, no ultrasound, no lab analyzer. Patients with fractures, internal injuries, or complications were stabilized and then sent on a four-hour mountain road journey to the nearest hospital. During the rainy season, that road was often impassable. Three patients died in transit in 2023 alone. The clinic staff had the training to handle emergencies, but not the tools to diagnose them.
The Solution
Project C.U.R.E. equipped the clinic through a C.U.R.E. Clinics visit: a portable X-ray unit, a handheld ultrasound, a point-of-care blood analyzer, and a full set of trauma supplies. A volunteer team of two emergency physicians and a radiology tech spent five days training the clinic staff on the new equipment, running simulation drills for fracture diagnosis, internal bleeding detection, and sepsis screening. The equipment was chosen specifically for durability and off-grid use, with solar-charging battery backup.
“Before, we were guessing. We would send patients on a dangerous journey not knowing if they truly needed the hospital or not. Now, we can see inside the body right here in our clinic. We saved a woman with an ectopic pregnancy last month — she would not have survived the road trip. That is the difference this equipment makes.
Dr. María Fernanda López Lead Physician, San Juan Community Health Center
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