Our Story
Founded in 2008 by Suffolk County Nurse Anesthetist Galo Burbano, Blanca’s House works to bring much-needed, quality medical care to countries and communities throughout Latin America. Working with medical personnel, we can provide both preventative and urgent healthcare to patients in outlying communities in South and Central America. Additionally, Blanca’s House offers patients a variety of medical procedures and surgeries including gynecology, gastroenterology, plastic surgery, general surgery, orthopedic surgery, ophthalmology, dentistry, rheumatology, and ENT.
Whether we provide patients with their first dental exam or give them the ability to walk without pain after a total knee replacement; whether we remove cancer from a thyroid or fibroid uterus, or repair a cleft palate, we are providing unparalleled medical and surgical care for people who would otherwise have limited or no access to a doctor. By providing health screenings, on-site surgeries, medical supplies, and educational outreach, Blanca’s House provides twenty-first century medicine to the underprivileged living in outlying communities throughout Latin America. Each year, over 200 medical and non-medical personnel travel to countries throughout Latin America to provide free healthcare services. All our team members are volunteers, paying for their own travel expenses and donating their time and expertise for every mission.
Volunteer Opportunities Abroad
The medical team not only provides care, but also pre-screens candidates and schedules the surgical rotation, provides post-surgery care and training for follow up with local providers. Blanca`s House doctors, surgeons, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, CRNAs, OR, pre-op and PACU nurses and surgical techs of varying specialties are recruited to match up with the host country`s particular medical needs at a specific site. Medical practitioners can volunteer for any trip and will be matched for a mission based on their area of expertise as well as where they are needed most while gaining a global health perspective.
Non-medical volunteers provide the foundation for all of our missions. At least half of our volunteers have no medical background and their services are a critical component to the successful operation of our work. As a non-medical volunteer you will work side by side with the medical team throughout the hospital or clinic as well as build relationships with the community. Interacting with the people of our host country is an important part of all short term medical mission trips and allows us to leave a lasting footprint on the community.
Some common roles for non-medical volunteers:
- Observe all aspects of medical services including the operating room
- Patient escort services
- Translation services
Offering the unique opportunity to introduce young people ages 14 to 18 to medicine, our Junior Volunteer Program allows students to join us on missions. The Junior Volunteer is one of the hardest working members of the Blanca’s House team. Junior Volunteers support the running of our hospital operations. They assist in patient intake, triage, data, and medical notes input, and have the opportunity to observe in and out of the operating rooms.
Medical Students and Residents will:
- Be supervised by practicing Health Care Providers in their specialty.
- Be exposed to social and cultural issues more intensely than they would ever experience at home. We take care of problems caused by poverty, malnutrition, inadequate immunizations, inadequate health care systems, illiteracy, and inadequate sanitation in a culturally sensitive way.
- Be exposed to many disease entities that are uncommon in the United States and many that are in more advanced stages than would be expected in a first world country.
- Practice their clinical and surgical skills
Whether we provide patients with their first dental experience or a returning patient needing additional restorative treatment, we are providing unparalleled dental care for people who would otherwise have limited or no access to a dentist. By providing dental screenings, on-site surgeries, and educational outreach, provides twenty-first century dentistry to the underprivileged living in remote communities throughout Ecuador. All our team members are volunteers, paying for their own travel expenses and donating their time and expertise for every mission.
Blancas House facilitates the logistics of the mission trip as well as, organizes and transports donated dental equipment and supplies to the communities we serve.