Twenty months ago, I was employed as a travel physical therapist covering a medical leave at a hospital-based outpatient clinic in northern Wisconsin, blissfully unaware of a virulent contagion that was about to turn the world upside-down – including my plans to travel to Honduras in May 2020.

This trip was funded and arranged as a joint venture between the Making a Difference Foundation (MADF) and A Broader View Volunteers (ABV). MADF is the philanthropic arm of CompHealth, the staffing agency that arranges employment for various locum tenens healthcare providers, including my employment assignment noted above. ABV is a volunteer coordinating agency that offers local immersion volunteer opportunities in various locations and specialities.

Since this trip was originally planned for May 2020 and perpetually postponed (thanks, COVID), the sponsoring agencies honored their commitment 18 months later when travel restrictions finally relaxed enough to allow our visit to Honduras, even though many of us were no longer employees of CompHealth.

The volunteer team consisted of six Americans: Two physical therapists, an occupational therapist, a speech therapist, and two support staff from MADF. We hailed from Wisconsin, Michigan, Missouri, Virginia, and Florida/Georgia; with no connection to one another outside of this volunteer trip (except for Andrea and her son Preston).

ABV arranged our volunteer trip to work at CRILA – el Centro de Rehabilitación Integral del Litoral Atlántida, a rehabilitation center on the outskirts of La Ceiba that serves a wide population of adults and children, orthopedic and neurologic conditions. It has a mission to provide services to populations that don’t have access to similar care. Specialists in physical therapy, psychology, language therapy, special education, and hydrotherapy provide care to patients under the care of physiatrist Dr. Melvin Urbina.

What a joy to partner with passionate, skilled providers!