Above, a team from OBI and MEC deliver a new X-ray machine to Hospital Escuela.

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – When Hospital Escuela was built 30 years ago, seven X-ray units were installed to serve the needs of trauma patients. One by one, the machines died, leaving only one X-ray left in the largest hospital in the country, in a city of over 2 million people.

This last X-ray machine has been working non-stop, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, taking hundreds of patient pictures every day. After all that use, the machine is in extremely poor condition. Its paint is chipped and its wires dangle loosely from the ceiling, their casing tattered.

“I have no idea how this equipment has worked so hard through the years,” said Dr. Leonardo Lara, director of the hospital’s radiology department. “The only thing I can say is that God must have permitted this machine to keep working because of the tremendous amount of need.”

Hospital Escuela treats anywhere from 40,000-60,000 patients a month, however the 30-year-old X-ray machine could simply not keep up with the demand.

Last July, a team from Mayo Clinic and Operation Blessing visited the hospital and committed to help. Mayo Clinic procured the first X-ray machine from MIGA, and later, Medical Equipment Corporation (MEC) of Virginia Beach, Virginia, secured a second and newer machine for the hospital.

In January, a team from OBI and MEC traveled to Honduras to install the machine. With hospital staff and several specialists from the Honduras military, the group transformed an empty, unused space into a state-of-the-art X-ray room.

In several long days, they installed everything from new wiring to structural supports, plaster for the walls and artwork for the waiting room.

OBI President Bill Horan (third from left) and First Lady of Honduras, Xiomara Castro de Zelaya (right), attend the ribbon-cutting for the new X-ray room at Hospital Escuela.

“Our team had the equipment installed and working, with X-ray room and waiting room looking like something you might find in a brand new hospital,” said Operation Blessing President Bill Horan.

After the final coat of light gray paint dried, the OBI team, hospital staff and First Lady of Honduras, Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, gathered amid a crowd of media representatives to officially open the new X-ray room. Many who were there called the transformation a miracle.

“This is only a machine… but there’s a lot more than what you can see going on in this room right now,” said Dr. Lara. “I truly believe that in the years to come, it will be the difference for what all the people in Honduras need in terms of health, service and humanitarian care.”

This month, a second X-ray machine will be installed and next month, a third.

HOW YOU CAN HELP
Be a part of OBI's ongoing medical relief efforts by making an online contribution to help those suffering from extreme poverty and sickness.

 

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