WHERE WE WORK:

Hospital Shalom

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Hospital Shalom was started in 1996 by missionaries Tim and Doris Spurrier, founders of New Covenant World Missions. Their vision formed out of the reality that Guatemala has the lowest life expectancy and the highest infant mortality rate of all the countries in Central America. The few government run hospitals that exist have extraordinarily high infection rates and simply are not equipped to handle the surgical or neonatal care needs of this very populous but poor area of Guatemala. Hospital Shalom is also the only facility in the region meeting the need for prosthetic limbs.

In 2011, Hospital Shalom expanded to 24 hour services with the opening of an emergency room. Inpatient capacity is also being expanded with the addition of a second floor to the facility.

Current estimates put the population of the Peten region at well over 550,000 people. Approximately 85% of that number has no access to “quality” healthcare apart from Hospital Shalom and the remaining 15% live in isolated villages with no access to even “basic” healthcare. Emergency care does not exist at all.

For this reason, Hospital Shalom has asked MAG to implement an air ambulance program in the Peten region which would make life saving emergency medical care available to an estimated 41,000 people located in twenty one villages that have been identified as having had airstrips within the last ten years with current potential for re-opening. Preparations are actively underway with deployment of personnel and aircraft set for late 2012.