San Juan, Guatemala

Acción Médica Integral San Lucas

Developing healthy communities requires more than doctors and nurses curing ailments. Dr. Jose Israel Hernandez’s passion for ministry in San Juan, Guatemala, is geared toward community development.

Hernandez had been in a private practice clinic, but desired to have a larger impact in Guatemala. He began working with the Luke Society in a ministry called Acción Médica Integral San Lucas in San Pedro la Laguna in 2003. The ministry was formed on Hernandez’s vision for better community health.

He and his wife, Gengly, began the ministry by speaking to church members and students and providing techniques for proper hygiene, handling natural disasters and preventing diseases.

The ministry, which has since moved to San Juan, works closely with local churches to develop leaders who encourage residents in their faith while integrating health education, training and other techniques.

 

Dr. Israel Hernandez

About the ministry:

Name: Acción Médica Integral San Lucas

Location: San Juan, Guatemala

Director: Dr. Israel Hernandez

Partnership: 2004-present

Staff: 8

PMT: Paul and Sue Soper; Dr. Peter and Ann Dieleman; Joy Berends (alumni).

 

Our mission:

“As instruments of God, we long for the integral transformation of communities, seeking their well-being, accompanying them and enhancing their development process.”

Why I love being a director:

“I like to serve people, listen to them, accompany them and to be used by God to heal their physical and soul wounds.”

About Guatemala:

Population: 17.4 million

Size: 108,889 sq. km, or slightly smaller than Pennsylvania

Capital: Guatemala City

Borders: Mexico to the north and west; Belize, Honduras and El Salvador to the east; Pacific Ocean to the south.

Religious groups: Catholic, 41.7; Protestant-evangelical, 38.8.

Primary language: Spanish

Literacy (age 15+): 80.8%

Physician density: 0.36 doctors per 1,000 people.

Population below international poverty line: 59.3%

Life expectancy: 72.6 years

Infant mortality rate: 26.8 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Major exports: Sugar, coffee, petroleum, apparel, bananas, fruits, vegetables, precious stones and metals

Climate: Tropical; hot and humid in the lowlands; cooler in the highlands.

Terrain: Mostly mountainous with narrow coastal plains.

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