Care Within Reach: Expanding Access and Hope in Guatemala’s Remote Northern Region 

Imagine having to travel 12 or 13 hours by car over unpaved, narrow roads in reach a medical facility where you can receive a much-needed surgical procedure. Now imagine doing it with a child desperately in need of care. This is the reality for many families in low- and middle-income communities. Petén, the largest region in Guatemala, covers a vast, mostly rural area in the north of the country. Many communities are remote, with limited roads and health services, meaning families often must travel long distances to reach essential care. 

As part of Operation 100, the Petén Regional Hospital was identified as a district hospital, with investments in infrastructure designed to create lasting impact for the region. Its location not only serves families in Petén but also extends care to nearby border communities in Belize and Mexico, where access to safe, timely surgery is often limited. The hospital also serves as a training center for local health providers, helping build a skilled workforce that strengthens the health system for generations. 

Operation 100 builds on Operation Smile’s four-decade commitment to expanding safe, high-quality care where it is needed most. In 37 countries, the organization provides surgery and comprehensive care for patients with cleft conditions and their communities. Through Operation 100, it is deepening its impact by bringing care closer to home for the communities it serves. 

“Guatemala has four regions,” explains says Beatriz Vidal, regional director of Operation Smile in Guatemala, Ecuador and Panama. “At Operation Smile, we want to be present in all four regions.” 

Operation Smile is building on its hub-and-spoke model, with hub hospitals serving as centers of excellence in training and care, while district hospitals become the spokes, bringing services closer to communities. This approach ensures that children and families in remote areas can receive vital care without traveling long distances. Hub hospitals also train health care workers in district hospitals, equipping them with the skills needed to provide safe, high-quality care.  

“We decided to open our first spoke in Petén so that we could cover and serve all patients in the northern region,” continues Vidal.  

Why does Operation Smile invest in strengthening district hospitals in remote communities? “Because the need is so great,” says Valeri Paredes, D.D.S., a maxillofacial surgeon and Operation Smile medical volunteer. This is especially true among patients with cleft conditions, who may come from a low resource or very remote areas. “If we invest in a center like Petén it will make treatment easier. And that means that patients won’t have to wait many years for surgery.”    

The key to expanding care to these regions starts with the training of surgical teams and allied health professionals Training health care providers benefits not only patients with cleft conditions, but many others as well, including burns and other types of surgery. The Petén Regional Hospital also provides year-round access to comprehensive care including speech therapy, nutrition support and dental care. 

One anesthesiologist who completed training at the center agrees that providing training is the key to expanding access to care. “The training we are receiving helps us decentralize care from the most populated areas, providing greater and safer access to all patients,” says Operation Smile medical volunteer Andrea Churunel, M.D., M.Sc. 

Increasing access to care for surgical patients not only radically improves their lives, but those around them, too. “If we can give them access a little closer to where they live, it definitely changes their prognosis and their way of life, because it changes everything,” explains plastic surgeon Carlos De Leon, M.D., medical director of Operation Smile Panama. “Not just the child, but the whole family that will benefit.”  

By investing in hospitals and equipping local health providers through hands-on training and mentorship, Operation Smile and its partners are removing barriers to care and building a future where every child, no matter where they live, can get the care they need.