Stories of Our Impact
From virtual lectures to hands-on practice, our two day Spinal Surgery Workshop gave more than 25 neurosurgical residents from Bolivia and Paraguay an opportunity to advance their skills.
Daniela has two beautiful children, both born with congenital heart defects. Their symptoms are treatable through surgery, but for her family living on a modest income, the care they needed was beyond their means.
Solidarity Bridge partner Dr. Bianca Becerra, a Bolivian neuro-anesthesiologist committed to improving access to trauma care, named Global Health Fellow at the annual conference of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA).
José was the first of six patients with complex neurosurgical conditions operated this week at the Santa Bárbara Hospital in Sucre, Bolivia. These surgeries are part of a long-term effort drawing on the contributions of local and U.S. neurosurgeons, neuro-anesthesiologists, neuro-intensivists, and neuro-rehabilitation specialists toward a vision of establishing the Santa Bárbara Hospital as a premier neurotrauma center.
Endoscopic transnasal surgery uses a tiny camera through the nose to remove tumors from the pituitary gland and skull base. U.S. neurosurgeon Richard Moser and Bolivian ENT Patricia Arteaga delivered a comprehensive course for 11 doctors eager to learn the technique.
The women we care for are themselves caregivers—they are mothers, they are daughters, they have jobs that put food on the table. Until this trip, I never fully understood the profound difference that access to minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery can make in allowing a patient to pursue treatment.
Solidarity Bridge and Puente de Solidaridad are two sides of the same coin, both promoting solidarity as central to who we are and why we do what we do.
Returning to the Chuquisaqueño Cancer Institute this week, our goal is to leave the hospital team prepared to independently perform laparoscopic hysterectomies going forward.
Across five specialties, our U.S. missioners have been working with their Bolivian colleagues to learn from one another and collaborate in making life better for our patients and the wider community.
MSMT changes lives by providing specialized care that is otherwise unavailable to patients at rural Bolivian hospitals.
In order to truly enter into the work that brings us to Bolivia —the care of patients in need— we must be present, we must listen, and we must stand in solidarity with the patients and all who work so hard to give them life-transforming care.
Mission trips constitute only one aspect of our year-round work, but these visits provide unique opportunities to expand our minds and hearts.
A decade ago, there was very little access to endoscopic pituitary surgery in Bolivia, regardless of a patient’s economic status. Today, access to these procedures has grown and expanded across the country.
Patients suffering strokes and aneurysms in Paraguay may wait months or years for treatment due to a lack of essential but highly specialized endovascular supplies. A generous donation by Stryker delivered during our June mission trip to Asunción is helping make neuro-endovascular care accessible for many such patients.
Each day of the Neurology and Neurosurgery Institute mission trip on epilepsy care brings new reminders of the complexity of neurological disorders. Working in collaboration among a team of specialists improves chances for accurate diagnoses and successful treatments.
This week in Bolivia, we are celebrating a major achievement: the first-ever epilepsy surgery performed in the public children’s hospital of Santa Cruz!
Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological diseases, but three-quarters of people living with epilepsy in low-income countries do not get the treatment they need. Our Neurosurgery and Neurology Institute (NNI) is partnering with colleagues at the public Children’s Hospital in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to bridge this gap.
Our latest maritime shipment took just 34 days to deliver 8+ tons of medical equipment and supplies from Springfield, Illinois, to Cochabamba, Bolivia.
Solidarity Bridge is pleased to announce the formal adoption of an agreement of cooperation with the Ministry of Health of Paraguay.
In addition to providing direct medical care in Bolivia and Paraguay, we at Solidarity Bridge remain committed to ensuring that our model of care is truly transformative—for individuals, communities and systems. This white paper codifies the learnings and insights gained from our decades of experience and offers a framework to make these encounters even more fruitful, respectful, and transformative.
While it is not our primary focus, we recognize that advocacy is an important tool to promote access to safe, timely, and affordable surgeries for the patients we aim to serve. This past spring, we met with other global surgery experts to push for more investment in surgical services.
After years of watiing, 11 patients found the healing care they needed through our recent Neuro trip to Paraguay. For the three patients profiled here, they also found a supportive family to walk with them through their journey to healing.
Our first three days in Paraguay included a Stroke Symposium, endovascular procedures, a cerebral bypass surgery, a presentation on revascularization, dinner with the Paraguayan Neurosurgical Society, and a two-day workshop on microsurgical bypass skills.
Bolivian doctors interested in pursuing sub-specialized training such as oncological surgery have very limited training options in-country. Our mission trip offers an opportunity for these doctors to operate alongside a surgeon who has performed thousands of the most difficult pancreatic and hepatobiliary surgical procedures.