About Us

Community oriented primary care (COPC) has been promoted as a way for communities and practitioners to work together in meeting health needs. A community is defined, community members identify needs, specific interventions are designed and implemented, and the process is evaluated to assess the impact. There are only a few examples where this process has been used completely and successfully around the world.

In 2001 a group of physicians from Pittsburgh began to partner with the San Jose Health Committee, a grass-roots organization seeking to improve the health of their community. The work was started in cooperation with a Cincinnati nonprofit group, Shoulder to Shoulder (Hombro a Hombro). Since then these groups have worked closely together to meet the identified needs.

San Jose is a remote mountain village of 1500 people in El Negrito District of Yoro Province. The surrounding area has about 6500 people. There is no electricity and only one solar telephone. Medical care has been sporadic due to isolation and lack of adequate Honduran health manpower. Water is piped down from mountain streams, but is often contaminated. Most homes have latrines, but not all. Intestinal parasitic disease rates are still quite high. Other major medical problems are asthma, infections and trauma. Tropical diseases include Chagas, leishmaniasis, and Dengue. The economy is agricultural and coffee is the main cash crop. Malnutrition among children is about 50-60%. A typical diet consists of rice, beans, and tortillas; the poorest don’t have rice.

The local health committee identified needs of more food for the children, regular medical care, a reliable supply of medicines, and more health education. Pittsburgh physicians have been visiting twice a year to bring a team of health workers to provide medical care and medications to the community. Pittsburgh churches have been very supportive in this effort with money, manpower, and supplies. A school-based feeding program has been started and is effective in increasing school attendance and in decreasing the rate of severe malnutrition. This program has now moved to providing milk for children in accordance with the community wishes. A new mobile clinic was donated to the community and work is progressing to establish this as a permanent clinic site for the area. Regular education programs are held whenever the team is in San Jose. A young woman has been recruited from San Jose who, with support from the Pittsburgh group she is now in nurses training and will provide ongoing health care in the future.

This project is conducted with the knowledge and support of the district health authorities, who recognize it as necessary and as meeting the expressed needs of the people of the village. It has actually increased the services and supplies allocated to the village. Collaboration is key to sustained change in the village.

Finally, medical students and residents gain life forming experiences in providing medical care in a third world setting as well as working with a COPC project.