The central goal of GHI is to put knowledge gained through participatory research and clinical and cultural experiences into developing effective, sustainable, and culturally sensitive health interventions/partnerships at Hospitalito Atitlán.
Our club is supported by Dr. Kent Bream, Associate Professor of Clinical Family Medicine and Community Health. The main enterprise of our club is a yearly summer trip to Hospitalito Atitlán, where undergraduates will support and expand the existing functions of Hospitalito Atitlán by raising funds, gathering medical supplies, and providing personnel support. In addition, students will have the opportunity to pursue their own independent projects in relation to epidemiology/population health studies. We will work during the year to appropriately train students for this trip, including cultural sensitivity training and workshops to gain basic clinical experience.
On campus, our club will be organized in a four-committee structure:
<ol>
<li>Projects Committee: The projects committee will focus on projects related to environmental sustainability in the context of medicine. Our projects committee will work to find common areas of waste in the medical setting and target efficient methods of waste removal. Potential topics include telehealth in Guatemala and setting up stations/access points for poorer patients to assist with patient outflow.</li>
<li>Research Methods Committee: In addition, training in epidemiological methods will be provided throughout the year through the Research Methods Committee; this will both guide students to select their own research methods and provide baseline training in this regard.</li>
<li>Conversations Committee: The Conversations Committee will work to set up events with guest lecturers from Perelmann, or faculty interested in the history of medicine, medical anthropology, or medical sociology.</li>
<li>Finance and Operations Committee: The Finance and Operations Committee will work to both secure funding sources for the Guatemala trip and manage our monetary investments.</li>
</ol>
Overall, the undergraduate branch of GHI, supported by faculty at the Perelman School of Medicine, aims to develop sustainable health interventions at Hospitalito Atitlán in Guatemala. Our club will raise funds, provide medical supplies and support, and pursue epidemiology projects, with training in cultural sensitivity and clinical skills.

Anna Mueller

President

Nitin Seshadri

Roshan Pillai

Officer

Aden Falk

Member

Krrisha Patel

Siddharth Adda

Guatemala Health Initiative

Guatemala Health Initiative (GHI) is a global health student group from the University of Pennsylvania working in partnership with Hospitalito Atitlán to improve health in the Tz’utujil Maya town of Santiago Atitlán.

Guatemala Health Initiative

Children of Guatemala Health Initiative

Parents of Guatemala Health Initiative