“Operation Honduras”

Global Health Honduras Project
In 2003, the Indiana University Department of Family Medicine (the Department) began to explore ways to address medical education issues brought about by the significant growth of Indiana’s Hispanic population. From 1990-2000, Indiana’s population grew by 9.7%; the Hispanic community grew by 117% and continued at a rate of 12% from 2000-2003. Indiana’s Hispanic population is rising; if the state continues to mirror national trends, there is no slowdown in sight. With these skyrocketing statistics, many question if Indiana can meet the demands of this growing community, particularly in the health care delivery system.

The Department’s Hispanic Health Initiative meets this demand by improving health issues and eliminating health disparities facing Indiana’s Hispanic population. The Hispanic Health Initiative combines a systematic and methodical offering of educational, clinical, linguistic, service and research training and activities focused on medical students, public health students, and primary care residents.

In 2003, the Department created the Global Health Honduras Project to expand and diversify medical education under the department’s Hispanic Health Initiative. Global Health Honduras Project is a partnership between the Department and the Honduran medical school located in Tegucigalpa. This new exchange program allows students at Indiana University to broaden cross cultural medical and global health experience by spending one month in Honduras.

Twice a year students participate in a 4-week elective in Honduras where they work on a week-long medical brigade, rotate in local hospitals and clinics, practice Spanish and learn life in a developing country by living with host families. To date, 13 medical students, 4 masters in public health students, 1 masters in health sciences student, 1 family practice resident, and 4 family medicine faculty have participated.

Those participating on the February 2006 trip were Andrew King, MS IV; Adrienna Lona, MS III; Allison Meadows, MS III; Elizabeth Emory, MPH student; Philip Adams, MPH student; Javier Sevilla, MD, International Program Director, Department of Family Medicine; Douglas McKeag, MD, Chair, Department of Family Medicine; Gaylen Kelton, MD, Assistant Chair, Department of Family Medicine; and Jennifer Custer, Program Manager. Volunteers Diane McKeag and Bob Custer ran the pharmacy.

In June 2006, Indiana University is thrilled to host the first three Honduran medical exchange students. The next medical education trip to Honduras is August 1-7, 2006.

Operation Shoebox: Honduras
Children in rural areas of Honduras lack even basic school supplies. To address this issue, Jennifer Custer, Program Manager, Underserved Medicine and International Health, Department of Family Medicine organized the first “Operation Shoebox: Honduras”. Each box contained a variety of items such as pencils, paper, toy cars, underwear, photographs, candies, puzzles, hair ribbons, toothpaste, tooth brushes, shampoo, hair brushes, combs, soft balls, rulers, pencil sharpeners, calculators, crayons and coloring books, scissors, glue sticks, yo-yos, socks, soap, stuffed animals, t-shirts…and hand written messages of love and friendship.

The boxes were given out the last day of the medical brigade in the remote mountain community of La Angostura. After the last patient had been seen, the medical brigade team went to the soccer field where Operation Shoebox: Honduras was put into action.

Jennifer described the scene as one of happy chaos and noted that one little girl, who had been seen that morning for club feet, was especially taken with her shoebox. “As I stood and watched her, her mother came over and thanked me. She told me that was the very first toy, the very first gift that her daughter had ever received. In that moment, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that we had made a difference in the life of that little four-year old girl.”

Approximately 250 boxes were handed to the children of La Angostura. Locally, Operation Shoebox: Honduras was generously supported by the Department of Family Medicine, Our Lady of Lourdes Girl Scout Troupe, and Cumberland First Baptist Church. For more information about this program or how to contribute boxes for the upcoming trip in August 2006, please contact Jennifer Custer at iufammed@iupui.edu.

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