Our clinic first opened in April of 2004. Every April we post tables showing the clinic’s outreach; to provide medical and dental services plus the distribution of milk to babies and toddlers. We are thankful for the medical/healthcare services that we are able to offer to the people in the Chorti region.
Servant Ministries began a medical clinic in April of 2004. We saw the need to provide medical care at affordable prices to the people from the mountain villages. There are local health departments that provide free medical attention, but for the most part they don’t have the medicine that is needed to treat the people. Putting a name on their condition without providing the means to alleviate it is of little use. People from the mountain villages are also apprehensive about going to the local health departments. Situations have improved in recent years, but in the past there were real “caste issues” between seeing a patient from the town and seeing one from the mountain village, who are from more pure Mayan descent. We try to treat each patient that comes to our clinic with the respect and love of God that they deserve!
Servant Ministries hosts short term medical teams that come and do outreaches in the remote mountain villages, taking the clinics to the people for one day outreaches. They leave behind their left over meds and this is what allows us to operate the on-going medical clinic for the ministry. Our current schedule is to be open 3 days a week. We have a nurse who operates the clinic and she deals with all of the chronic on-going health issues and we stock the necessary meds to help the people. We are able to offer testing for glucose, breathing treatments and coordinate with a lab when lab tests are necessary.
Also, Ana, our nurse, is a Christian and can many times offer encouragement, counsel and prayer to our patients and they leave having been treated for the “whole person”.
The people pay a minimal fee (equivalent to 1 hour of work at minimum wage) for their consultation with the nurse. This helps to pay for the nurse and receptionist’s wages. Then the meds are given without cost. We run a small store at the clinic as well, to help offset the costs of the clinic and to keep fees charged to a minimum.
As of October of 2007, we began to offer dental service at the clinic as well. We have a local dentist come every Saturday who does extractions, cleanings and fillings at cost. We have seen a tremendous response to this outreach and have appointments made usually for up to 2 months in advance. People have had chronic teeth problems, many times for years, and it is a real blessing to be able to give them a pain free mouth and to help teach them oral hygiene.
In December of 2009 we dedicated a new clinic building to house our medical/dental clinic. It has much larger exam rooms for both medical and dental consultations plus 2 bathrooms, a very large reception/store area and nicer ambiance. The surrounding security wall was brought up to full height. The larger facility allows us to use the reception area to function as a store as well. We sell hygiene products, clothes, toys, school supplies and more. The clinic does not generate enough funding to keeping it running or pay its staff. This store provides the necessary funding to keep our doors open.
In 2010 we became an outreach to babies and toddlers; providing milk to those who are malnourished. Baby formula is like powdered gold and literally keeps these babies alive. Even the local health department sends babies to us that are in need of receiving baby formula, as they do not have the ability to provide it. Toddlers receive full cream powdered milk. We are always in need of donations of both of these types of milk.
In 2012 we added optical care to our clinic’s offered services. We are able to give full eye exams and have thousands of refurbished glasses, provided by a Lion’s Club, to hand out at no cost to the people.
In 2013 we built two storerooms that house our supply of medicine and the inventory for the store. We reach out and help thousands of people each year through the clinic’s many services. If you are interested in helping, please communicate with our US office by calling (810)385-4338 or writing an email to nancy@servantministries.net.
Servant Ministries’ medical clinic began 18 years ago; in 2004. We treat the chronic on-going issues that seem to plaque the people and most simple ailments. Ana Orellana is the nurse and administrator over the clinic and has been with us since the clinic’s start up. The clinic is open 3 mornings a week and the charge to be seen is approximately $1.30 and medicine is given out without any charge. Our Embrace children (Servant Ministries’ child sponsorship program) receive any of the clinic’s services without charge. The clinic also serves the general public and many take advantage of that.
Since the clinic was launched in 2004, we have added dental service, optical eye examinations and giving of glasses, and a milk program to babies and toddlers. The clinic has a store that sells clothes, hygiene products, toys and other miscellaneous things as a way to generate the funding that it needed to pay the clinic staff. The tables for each outreach have been updated as well as many of the photos.
PATIENT TALLY FROM APRIL 2021-MARCH 2022 |
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GENERAL PUBLIC |
NUMBER OF PATIENTS |
TOTAL VISITS |
One time visit | 499 | 499 |
Repeated second visit | 36 | 72 |
Repeated third visit | 15 | 45 |
Repeated fifth visit | 8 | 24 |
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One time visit | 64 | 64 |
Repeated second visit | 7 | 14 |
Repeated third visit | 5 | 36 |
Repeated fourth visit | 1 | 36 |
TOTALS | 635 | 754 |
PREVIOUS YEARS |
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Visits from April 2004-April 2005 | 1,603 | 2,224 |
Visits from April 2005-April 2006 | 1,147 | 1,564 |
Visits from April 2006-April 2007 | 1,436 | 1,875 |
Visits from April 2007-April 2008 | 976 | 1,366 |
Visits from April 2008-April 2009 | 670 | 1,024 |
Visits from April 2009-April 2010 | 804 | 1,217 |
Visits from April 2010-April 2011 | 1,262 | 1,555 |
Visits from April 2011-March 2012 | 887 | 1,235 |
Visits from April 2012-March 2013 | 1,223 | 3,107 |
Visits from April 2013-March 2014 | 831 | 1,264 |
Visits from April 2014-March 2015 | 1,037 | 1,492 |
Visits from April 2015-March 2016 | 792 | 1,180 |
Visits from April 2016-March 2017 | 702 | 1,099 |
Visits from April 2017-March 2018 | 524 | 775 |
Visits From April 2018-March 2019 | 416 | 567 |
Visits From April 2020-March 2021 | 374 | 434 |
To Date: | 15,100 | 22,545 |
DENTAL SERVICE RENDERED2011-2021 |
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Previous Years | |||||||||||
NAME | Year 2011 | Year 2012 | Year 2013 | Year 2014 | Year 2015 | Year 2016 | Year 2017 | Year 2018 | Year 2019 | Year 2020 | Year 2021 |
Embrace | TOTALS | ||||||||||
# Of Patients | 215 | 308 | 406 | 268 | 242 | 267 | 238 | 247 | 220 | 187 | 280 |
Extractions | 66 | 129 | 125 | 107 | 70 | 102 | 54 | 47 | 50 | 2 | 88 |
Cleanings | 165 | 193 | 236 | 144 | 178 | 198 | 192 | 192 | 194 | 186 | 257 |
Fillings | 165 | 68 | 73 | 100 | 30 | 17 | 192 | 35 | 40 | 0 | 3 |
Flouride Treatments | 38 | 193 | 236 | 142 | 177 | 198 | 7 | 192 | 194 | 186 | 257 |
General Public | |||||||||||
# Of Patients | 26 | 30 | 38 | 63 | 55 | 27 | 41 | 30 | 0 | 0 | |
Extractions | 26 | 26 | 57 | 72 | 70 | 23 | 45 | 40 | 0 | 0 | |
Cleanings | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | |
Fillings | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
Flouride Treatments | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
In 2010 we started an outreach to babies and toddlers in need. Our Embrace (Child Sponsorship Program) starts with children of 4 years of age and older. Sometimes we find younger children that have great need, and we wanted to develop an outreach to help them. We give baby formula to babies who are malnourished. Sometimes a mother dies in child birth and family members are left to care for the newborn. Buying formula is not an option as the people do not have the resources to make that kind of a purchase.
Sometimes a mother just doesn't have an adequate milk supply; usually in part to her own poor health. We encourage her to nurse but we supplement her milk supply. The babies are brought to the ministry clinic once a month, to be monitored and weighed so that we are assured that the baby is improving in their health.
Full cream powdered milk is provided for toddlers who are malnourished and monitored in the same way, on a monthly basis.
We are always in need of donations of baby formula or donations that allow us to do the purchase of formula in Guatemala; which is even a better option! Donations can be made to "Servant Ministries" and sent to PO Box 596073 Fort Gratiot, MI 48059 and designated for "baby formula". Hep us reach out to these precious little ones to "give them life"!