Valle de Angeles, Honduras
Hospital Adventista Valle de Angeles (HAVA) Is a 30-bed, non-profit hospital located in the picturesque town of Valle de Angeles, 22 kilometers from the capital city of Honduras. The hospital was founded by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1974 with the goal of providing quality whole-person care at affordable prices, and to this day is the only hospital in a region with a population of approximately 90,000 people.
Honduras is one of the poorest countries in Central America with more than 60% of its population living below the poverty line and some 20% of individuals in rural areas living on less than $2 per day. The current government health care system is unequipped to meet the needs of the ever-expanding population, forcing many people to go without services or wait months for care. Hospital Adventista Valle de Angeles currently offers the following services: inpatient acute care, nursing home care, surgeries (including general surgery, gynecology, orthopedic, urology, vascular and head and neck surgery); outpatient clinic care (including internal medicine, family medicine, preventive medicine, pediatrics, psychology, psychiatry, ophthalmology, dermatology, pulmonology, obstetrics, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and the surgical specialties already mentioned); emergency department, physical therapy, dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, laboratory, X-ray, and ultrasound.
This wide range of services, coupled with its tranquil location and staff dedicated to creating a health care experience that not only treats the physical health but also the spiritual and emotional health of the patient and family, has led to HAVA becoming a hospital sought out by individuals from across the country.
In 2012, a group of medical volunteers from AdventHealth traveled to Honduras to work with HAVA to serve the communities near Valle de Angeles. Subsequent teams of volunteers from Centra Care, AdventHealth’s urgent care centers, made several trips per year to Honduras to provide primary care to these underserved communities with HAVA. Over these multiple mission trips, AdventHealth and HAVA established a deeper relationship that included more than just mission trips. Renovations to the emergency department at HAVA as well as a new lighted entrance with signage were funded through philanthropy raised by AdventHealth. Recently, Centra Care donated an X-ray unit that was removed from service in the Kansas City market and has been shipped to HAVA. Its installation was completed at the beginning of May. Donations of medical equipment (ultrasound, portable X-ray, CR processor, etc.) and furniture (beds, stretchers, tables, etc.) have helped HAVA upgrade its services.
At AdventHealth our Global Missions team proudly extends the healing ministry of Christ around the world.
Global Missions empowers volunteers to serve the international community where it is needed most. With compassionate care and mutual respect, we hope to permanently enhance the quality of life for those in need. Our volunteers get directly involved and actively engaged in the following activities:
- Provide medical and surgical care to patients
- Promote health education to communities
- Conduct training programs for clinical staff
- Deliver donated equipment and supplies
- Raise funds for approved projects
- Share process-improvement expertise
- Support strategic-planning objectives