Candice and Dr. Fuentes spent a good portion of each day together, examining patients, making diagnoses, and consulting on treatment plans. Both agree that there are many benefits to the cross-cultural sharing of knowledge they experienced during their week together.  While the patients have benefited from the experience, so have Candice and Dr. Fuentes. Dr. Fuentes shared, “The experience was really amazing.  We’ve been sharing treatment plans; some are the same and some are different than in the U.S. ” He continued,  “It has been really beneficial for both of us because we have been able to discuss criteria for diseases and how a patient’s presentation for an illness might vary in different regions of the world.

This is the story of the pandemic as seen from our colleagues at the Cancer Institute of Eastern Bolivia. It is only an example of one hospital, in one city, and yet we hope it invites you into the reality of our partners who are providing care for patients with complex illnesses during this difficult time.

While all but emergency surgeries have been delayed by the COVID-19 crisis, many of our medical partners in hospitals across Bolivia are still working on the front lines.

A final installment of our blog series dedicated to introducing a few of Solidarity Bridge’s key Bolivian medical partners. This partner story takes us to the field of Neurosurgery, where we are blessed to work alongside the best surgical talents in Bolivia!