"We exist to serve the poor"

Private non-profits Shoulder to Shoulder and Hombro a Hombro work in tandem to achieve a single mission: to develop educational and health programs to help poor, rural communities in Honduras achieve sustainable development and improve the overall health and well being of its residents.

We seek to address the health, education, economic, and social needs of underserved communities in the poorest areas of Honduras. Shoulder to Shoulder represents successful partnerships between poor rural communities and academic health centers.

Volunteers from the U.S. include physicians, dentists, nurses, lawyers, engineers, business experts builders and students. The central theme of our partnerships is mutual growth. Every project involves the provision of health care at the level of the community. This involves working in the most remote sites, often in communities without water or electricity.

Presently, we provide primary health care and community support to over 25,000 people with clinics at four sites. We provide meals to more than 2,000 children each day. There are programs with home and community water filters, women's health, dentistry, Yo Puedo or young girls empowerment, scholarships for the brightest and poorest, and libraries for the children.

We are rapidly expanding with the addition of three new academic partnerships at three new sites, and are building a new 5,500 sq ft clinic in Concepcion. Please peruse our web page to learn more about our health initiative and how you can help.

Donate

Tax deductible contributions can be made online or mailed to:

Shoulder to Shoulder, Inc.
4754 Chapel Ridge Dr
Cincinnati, Ohio 45223

Introducing our new clinic in Concepcion!

Digital Imaging Delivers Modern Medicine to the Developing World

Shoulder to Shoulder holds an inaugural event opening their latest medical clinic in Concepcion, Honduras Imaging Technology News: February 23, 2010 - Before opening the doors of a new medical clinic in a remote region of Honduras, Dr. Jeffrey E. Heck, founder of the sponsoring NGO Shoulder to Shoulder said, “It’s important to offer the same services here as if it were a clinic in the United States.”

Dr. Heck’s vision became a reality when he installed a suite of digital radiology and telemedicine equipment in a new clinic designed to serve a resource-poor community of 30,000 plus inhabitants in the town of Concepcion in Intibuca, Honduras. Read more ...

Help us fill our library for Honduras school children

Children playing at the library In 2007, Shoulder to Shoulder opened the first library in Santa Lucia. Local schools have such a limited supply of books that children are not allowed to touch them, so the library is the only place in the community where children can actually pick up a book to read—and even check books out to take home.

Since its inception, the library has been a tremendous success. Weekly activities include story hour, geography club, life skills class, and exercise classes. During the summer, a reading club and a craft class are also offered.

Children come daily to the library to read, do crafts, color, play “Memory,” and put together puzzles. Students use the library to research different projects and check email. Adults come for exercise classes and to use the computers and internet.

In order to make space in the clinic for a maternity wing, Shoulder to Shoulder is building a new library, and we need your help to do this.

We need more books in Spanish. The library currently has 200+ books with a wish list for books posted on Amazon. Click here to donate a book from our Amazon wishlist.

For more information about the library or how to donate books or supplies, please email Mo Jennings at mjennings@shouldertoshoulder.org.

Generous Contributions

iCRco

iCRco donated a turnkey computed radiography system to be used in a remote clinic in rural Honduras. Thousands of Hondurans will now have access to proper medical diagnoses and treatments due to the joint efforts by iCRco, Shoulder to Shoulder organization, and many other vendors that made this project a reality. The CR system donated by iCRco was a critical part to the success of the clinic. Read more ...

Global Media, Inc.

Global Media, Inc. is committed to providing technology that goes beyond the physical limitations of modern medicine through the design of tools which save time and money to improve the quality of care provided to patients worldwide. This company is donating a portable medical consul and the equipment and software to support the telemedicine system. This will be used for our clinic in Concepcion.

MinXray

We have received an X-ray machine from MinXray, a world-wide leader in the portable x-ray industry. MinXray Inc. is a world-wide leader in the portable x-ray device industry and they have provided reliable, high quality equipment since 1967.

MedWeb

Medweb specializes in distributed RIS/PACS and telemedicine with over 1,000 installations worldwide. The company recently introduced the VirtualPACS gateway module that electronically shares patient information between clinicians, radiology groups and imaging facilities for true enterprise PACS connectivity. The software-only DICOM archive and router is downloaded via a Web browser and auto configured to any Windows-based PC, so it does not require involvement of an IT specialist, making it the ideal teleradiology solution for Shoulder to Shoulder's new Honduras clinic.

The Medical Mission Hall of Fame Foundation

The Medical Mission Hall of Fame Foundation recently donated a significant amount of medical supplies, which were delivered using Jeffrey and Claudia Keenan's donated truck.

S2S in the News

Imaging Technology News

Digital Imaging Delivers Modern Medicine to the Developing World (2/23/2010)
Radiology IT Explores New Frontiers (2/4/2010)

University of Wyoming Hoofprints Newsletter

A group of 19 students and faculty from the Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing (FWWSON) and physicians from UW and the family medicine residency programs traveled to Honduras in November 2009 for the School's fourth brigade with S2S. → Read the newsletter

American Academy of Family Physicians

A UNC physician describes her recent trip to Santa Lucia with S2S in AAFP's winter newsletter.

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Latest S2S Updates

Letter of Support from Cardinal Rodriguez

"It is a pleasure for me to participate with your proposal to construct a bilingual school in Concepcion, Intibuca. Intibuca is one of the neediest areas in Honduras. Shoulder to Shoulder has made great strides bettering the health care in several of the most isolated communities such as Santa Lucia, Magdalena and Concepcion. → Read the full letter

S2S's Strategic Plan for Comprehensive Health Care for the Frontier

This proposal has the potential to demonstrate improvement in access to vital services for the people who live in the municipalities of San Marcos Sierra, Concepcion, Magdalena, San Antonio and Santa Lucia within 60 months, beginning March, 2010. → View proposal

S2S's Radiology Network on Radiolopolis

S2S doctors in Concepcion's medical clinic collaborate with U.S. Radiologists on Radiolopolis, an online community to share news, advice, and support for radiologists worldwide. → Join the initiative!

Honduras Trip Reflections

"I always think of an old adage when faced by seemingly impossible odds of success like the current socioeconomic status of this area of Honduras. It’s the question—How do you eat an elephant, does anyone know how to do that? You simply eat an elephant 'one bite at a time'." - Dr. Ed Zuroweste, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine → Read more

"Who are we? What are we? What do we do?

Shoulder to Shoulder is many things to many different people, and we pride ourselves for being much more than just a “one-issue” organization. But this makes telling people who we are and what we do a little more difficult. So we asked a group of our staff, donors, recent volunteers, and friends of Shoulder to Shoulder to tell us what they think. Here’s what they had to say:

“Shoulder to Shoulder is like a welcome blast of AC when you’re sweating in the Honduran sun…the structure and organization that STS provided during our brigade was refreshing. I cannot imagine spending my first brigade with any other organization than STS…any other organization I travel with will have very big shoes to fill!” – Melissa Ozarzak, Student, U.C. College of Nursing

“Such a nice mix of personalities, experience, romance, hard work, sweat, scorpions, more sweat, meringue, waterfalls and rivers!” – Mamie Guidera, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing Faculty

“A brigade with STS is like a big co-ed slumber party where everyone is very nice but also very sweaty.” – Anonymous

"Shoulder to Shoulder is a well tuned vehicle for offering both cultural immersion experiences to health care practitioners, as well as an opportunity for service and partnership in health care for the Honduran people. The experience is as profound as it can be challenging – and for me it was a rich and life changing experience." – Martha Arguelles, Montana State University College of Nursing faculty

“Being a witness to Shoulder to Shoulder and their efforts and their progress in Pinares has been one of the great blessing of my life.” - Mary Jean Russ

“Shoulder to Shoulder is like a big, loving, only slightly dysfunctional family.” – Jody Heck, Project Coordinator, Respiratory Study

“Shoulder to Shoulder is an unlikely partnership of Hondurans and gringos who work to elevate a community's health status and wellbeing – having fun and many laughs in the process. Residing here at the Santa Lucia clinic has all the solidarity, fun, friendship, and communal living that embodies college life - plus a shared commitment to STS's vision.” – Kerri Kruse, Project Coordinator, MANI II

“Shoulder to Shoulder exemplifies passion for helping the residents of Southwestern Honduras achieve their goals and greatest desired potential and empowers through encouragement and support for a healthy tomorrow. STS is life, love, and laughter!” Jessica Olingy, Nurse Practitioner

“Academically, STS offers a great venue to expose U.S. students to a systematic manner for value-added data collection on rural public health. Epidemiologically, the data can be used in the present, reviewed retrospectively for high caliber work because of the high quality of reliability in STS’s survey and collection methods. STS’s contribution is invaluable...[it] offers a wide and far-reaching impact on those that it comes in contact with.” Edwin Galan, Clinical Assistant Professor, Silver City Health Center - KU Health Partners

“Shoulder to Shoulder is full of incredible people tirelessly working together towards the same goal: To improve the lives of people in Intibucá.” Ben Ranz, Director of Operations, STS

“Shoulder to Shoulder is development with a heart and a head, making data-driven decisions without forgetting the people and the lives behind the numbers." - Brett Jennings, Assistant Coordinator, Medical Brigades, STS

Shoulder to Shoulder, Hombro a Hombro, has been a positive experience in my life….All of us learned, some were frustrated because of the immense poverty and big problems. I kept saying, “Rome was not built in a day…” STS is a proven record…you will never be sorry about the time or money you invest in the health of the people from Honduras.” Julio Aponte, M.D., Cleveland Clinic

“To me Shoulder to Shoulder is healthcare, education, hope, fun and full of friends. It allowed me to practice nursing, practice my Spanish, explore a new area and make new friends. I saw how hard everyone was working to bring health care and education to Honduras and the endless hours the staff puts in order to reach that goal. I had an amazing time with Shoulder to Shoulder and hope to work with them again soon.” Emily Bodner

“Shoulder to Shoulder is more than just a job, it’s an adventure!” Mo Ranz Jennings, Director of Development, STS

"Shoulder to Shoulder is pioneering the future of sustainable healthcare delivery to third world countries..." -Alex

"To me Should to Shoulder is life altering and faith affirming. Living in the United States and, especially for me, in a city and around suburbs, you think you have an idea of what "poor" means. Before this trip "poor" to me included those people living in government provided housing, relying on welfare checks, foodstamps, disability, etc facing difficult decisions on how to afford living. I still consider this a terrible situation in my mind and feel for those in that position, but after traveling to Guachipilincito I have learned the true definition of this word. Poor is having little to no money at all, no transportation, no access to medical care, and no clean water. Poor is not being able to afford to feed your young children more than one meal a day. Poor is walking miles in the heat with no shoes on to solicit much needed medical care. However, in these "poor" people, I found the richest supply of love and faith and contentment I've ever seen. The pure happiness and joy the people of this region exuded for each and every day was incredible. The thankfulness and the countless blessings they bestowed upon myself and the members of the brigade were sincere and intimate. Returning to my life in the states has been a different experience. Hardly a day goes by that I don't recount how the simple things in life are the most beautiful, and how thankful and full my heart should be for what I'm able to do and what I have. I hope to continue to return the wonderful people in Honduras many times more and who knows what other lessons I could learn...." Maura

Quarterly Newsletters

April 2010

S2S opens its newest medical clinic in Honduras. → Read more

November 2009

Virtual and real ways you can make a difference. → Read more

→ Read previous newsletters

Ways You Can Help ...

Coffee Fundraiser

Every pound purchased provides a Honduran child a daily meal for one month. → Buy coffee here

→ Other ways to help ...

Shoulder to Shoulder

Helping the poor in rural Honduras