Site Information Sheet

Program location

The town of San Ignacio is located 70 miles from Belize City, in the heart of the Cayo District and tucked away in the beautiful Maya Mountains.

Climate/Weather

Belize is hot and humid year round with temperatures ranging from mid-70s F in January to mid-90s F in August. Cooling Caribbean breezes bring respite from the sub-tropical climate. Winters rarely drop below 60 F. The wet season extends from June to September, with annual rainfall heavier in the south.

La Loma Luz Adventist Hospital, P.O. Box 17, San Ignacio, Cayo, Belize, Central America

Physical address

67 Western Hwy, Santa Elena, Cayo

The day starts at 7:45 a.m. with worship with the hospital staff. At 8:00 a.m. the doors to the hospital open and the waiting patients come in. The days will be spent shadowing doctors on their rounds and other surgical procedures. The hospital normally closes around 5:00 p.m.

Site size

The hospital has 16 patient beds of which 60 percent are regularly occupied. The site sees approximately 40 outpatients per day.

Services offered at the site:

• Church evangelism
• Clinical laboratory
• Dentistry
• Family planning
• Infectious disease
• Internal medicine
• Labor/delivery
• Outpatient clinic
• Pediatrics
• Radiography
• Records administration
• Surgery
• Ultrasound

Program details

English is the official language of Belize. Most Belizeans other than recent arrivals from neighboring countries have at least a working knowledge of English. English or Creole English predominates along the coast, and in the center and south of the country. In the west and north, the Spanish language is more widely spoken. Spanish is the native tongue of about 50 percent of the people and is spoken as a second language by another 20 percent. The various Maya groups still speak Maya languages, and an English Creole dialect, similar to the Creole dialects of the English-speaking Caribbean Islands, is spoken by most. Some communities in southern Belize mostly speak Garifuna.

Participants will be lodged in a hospital room, and meals will be provided by the hospital. Fresh food is available for purchase locally. Other amenities at this site include running water, hot showers, and laundry service. Water is safe to drink as it is chlorinated.

Meals

Three vegetarian meals are served at the following times:
Breakfast at 8 a.m., lunch at 12 noon, supper at 5:15 p.m.
Fresh food is available for purchase locally at the Fresh Market.

Participants are responsible for arranging their own air travel to the Belize International Airport. From there, the hospital will arrange for students to be picked up in a hospital vehicle for a fee. The hospital is located 90 miles from the airport, and estimated travel time is 2 hours.

This site recruits students and professionals in the following health professions: medicine, nursing, nutrition/dietetics, laboratory technology, medical records, and other non-health related fields.