CAMO Progresses in Creating the Respiratory Therapy Career in Honduras

CAMO Honduras welcomed government officials, including Health Minister Carla Paredes, Women’s Secretary Doris García Paredes, and Health Advisor Ana Castro.

The purpose of their visit, which began at our headquarters in Santa Rosa de Copán, was to firsthand understand the management and unwavering support CAMO provides to public health establishments as part of its mission to improve people’s quality of life and promote sustainable community development.

During the visit, our founder, Kathy Tschiegg, led the officials on a tour of significant medical facilities, including Hospital de Occidente, the Public Health Center, and Women’s Shelter.

The director of the hospital, Dr. Marith López, and assistant director Dr. Cindy Cuéllar accompanied the tour.

Our executive director, José Bautista, expressed that the government officials’ visit allowed the institution to progress in creating a technical career in Respiratory Therapy, as well as to showcase the projects the institution executes in the western part of the country.

Bautista stated that the meeting with Ministers Paredes and García, as well as President Castro’s sister and Health Advisor, aimed to strengthen the relationships between the two ministries, CAMO, and the institutions we support.

“We have seen Minister Doris García’s political willingness to support these initiatives. The minister was pleased to learn about the experience of the women’s shelter, supported by CAMO, and sees it as an example to replicate in Honduras.”

Regarding Health Secretary Carla Paredes’ visit, “We wanted her to learn about our project to establish a technical career in Respiratory Therapy, which has been a pressing need in the country, as we lack such a career despite indicators of respiratory disease incidence.”

In this regard, Bautista mentioned, “We are coordinating with two Honduran universities and one from the United States, and they were requesting official linkage with the Health Secretary. We presented the initiative to the minister, and she viewed it favorably.”

“We also discussed other topics such as nursing protocols, which we’ve been working on since 2013 and are necessary to strengthen the services provided by nurses,” he added.

To finalize the projects that bring CAMO closer to the aforementioned state secretaries, the organization will make formal requests to implement this project of offering a technical career in respiratory therapy to the public.