Juan Lorenzo Hinojosa, founder of Solidarity Bridge and Dr. Richard Moser, medical director of our Neurosurgery Program, traveled to Bolivia April 16-22. They were joined by Maria Eugenia Brockmann, our Senior Director of Programs. This administrative trip was an exciting first step toward our return to travel and in-person exchanges. In addition to their primary goals of advancing conversations around the structure and future projects of our neurosurgery program, they were also able to reconnect personally with many of our partners across the country.

In Santa Cruz, Patricia Paz Estenssoro, the regional director of Puente de Solidaridad, coordinated meetings with our public and private hospitals partners. It was a joy to witness the camaraderie between Dr. Moser and his Bolivian peers. They all expressed how much they missed each other during the travel hiatus caused by COVID-19.

The SB team meets with Dr. Otazo (left) at the San Juan de Dios Hospital in Santa Cruz.

Our partners shared how they personally experienced the first wave of the pandemic last year, as well as how their hospitals fared. Dr. Otazo, from the San Juan de Dios hospital, the largest public hospital in Santa Cruz, told us that the neurosurgery ward was converted to a COVID ward, and eventually, “the whole hospital ‘turned COVID,’” despite being the only hospital where low-income patients can turn for their complex needs. Each person we visited with also had a personal story of friends and colleagues who contracted the virus and died. They told us how they themselves got sick, how their hospitals had no beds for anyone other than COVID patients, how they slowly began working again and reopening surgical services. They also shared their anxieties about the current situation, and their fears about the Brazilian variant and an imminent new wave of COVID infections. The conversations were a stark reminder of our changed reality and the need to protect and care for each other.

In Santa Cruz and La Paz, we met with long-time allies of our mission including: Dr. Gueider Salas, current president of the Bolivian Society of Neurosurgery; Dr. Martín Aliaga, current vice-president and president-elect of the Society; and Dr. Carlos Dabdoub Arrien, the Vice-Chancellor of Universidad Franz Tamayo. Their engagement and leadership in the development of our ongoing initiatives is key to our sustainable impact. As Dr. Aliaga mentioned, “I am grateful and honored to take part in this mission, but I do so because I have a commitment to work for the Bolivian people, that is what moves me.” This is our shared motivation, to continue working together to increase patient access to safe, timely, and affordable neurosurgeries.

Juan Lorenzo Hinojosa and Dr. Richard Moser visit the neurosurgery department at Santa Barbara Hospital in Sucre.

In Sucre, we visited Dr. David Gardeazabal, head of neurosurgery at the Santa Barbara Hospital. At this historic hospital—the first in the Americas, created by royal order in 1545—our work is focused on advancing neurosurgical care, especially for trauma patients. Dr. Moser, with the virtual aid of biomedical engineers in the US, was able to finalize the installation and put into balance a Zeiss microscope we delivered in a supply shipment last year. With this equipment Dr. Gardeazabal and his colleagues are able to perform spinal and cranial surgeries that they were otherwise unable to offer. We spent many hours in the process of balancing the microscope, and we look forward to hearing of the additional patients they are now able to serve.

We also discussed our upcoming webinar series. Planned in two formats, these webinars will keep us connected across our bridge and advance the goals of our year-round programs. In one format, we will exchange monthly case studies. Both U.S. and Bolivian surgeons will share cases of interest, discussing their approach, the difficulties they faced, treatment results, and what they learned. The goal is to exchange medical perspectives on diagnosis and treatment and learn from each other. The second format will be academic presentations to include up-to-date research, ways of treating specific pathologies, and more. While these exchanges are organized primarily with and for our partners at the Santa Barbara Hospital in Sucre, the virtual format will allow us to extend the invitation to all Bolivian and Paraguayan neurosurgeons interested in participating.

This opportunity to travel and meet in person infused us with energy and hope for the future. Most of the doctors and medical personnel we met in Bolivia are now vaccinated against COVID-19. As we exchanged “hellos” and “how are yous?” a new common greeting was added, “I am vaccinated, are you?” We are relieved and overjoyed to hear that a majority of health workers in Bolivia have finally received this important protection. There are still enormous challenges and uncertainties ahead but we felt a sense of hope in all our conversations. In sharing this update, it’s our desire that you will be filled with that tremendous sense of hope as well.

Finding Strength and Hope in Our Shared Motivations