Regis students return to serve community in Cobán, Guatemala for Sixth Year in a Row

This spring, students, faculty, alumni and community returned for the Guatemala Medical Service Project in Cobán, Guatemala, to the clinic at the Ciudad de la Esperanza, a community landmark which has partnered with Regis for nearly a decade. This annual service trip invites Regis students alongside established medical professionals to use their skills in the service of others, contributing to the clinic’s community health care model.

Dr. Laurel “Lauri” Pramuk, M.D., medical doctor and Regis alumna, has spearheaded the Guatemala Medical Service Project since 2020. Continuing her work of over a decade from Xavier University, Pramuk reestablished the project at Regis, creating the experience for students and alumni, and the community of Cobán. For the students, alumni and community that take part, the global community calls them to serve.

Regis alumna and Kateri Dir-Munoz, ‘21, RHCHP, returned to Guatemala this year, not as a student, but now as a mentor. Dir-Munoz is a registered nurse working as a mental health nurse at Boston Children’s Hospital and has been working in adolescent mental health care for over five years. As a Regis student, Dir-Munoz originally attended the flagship service trip in the spring of 2020 and again in 2021 as a recent graduate. Returning in 2026, Dir-Munoz brings with her a new wealth of medical experience.

For Dir-Munoz, seeing how the clinic has grown and flourished with the support of Regis and various communities in Cobán was one of the most impactful moments of her trip. She described how the one-room clinic space has now expanded to a multi-level building that encompasses various specializations and methods of care, including a specific triage room, dental care space and a pharmacy. Importantly, she noted how, beyond Regis students, nursing and medical students from around Guatemala are invited to the space to learn and teach

“There are local people who also use this space to learn, taking what they learn back to their own communities.” Dir-Munoz continued, “I think that's the most valuable thing that we can do, to continue to build the capacity for health care education there.”

Dir-Munoz described how she was initially hesitant to join the Guatemala Medical Service Project as a social justice-minded student. She worried that the intervention may harm the community more than benefit it. The students in the program are taken through a year of education, exploring medical inequities, community health care models and cultural information about Guatemala before they are set to go into service in the community.

“I really appreciate how the project spends the whole year with the students, and then the students go to Guatemala and see how connected and amazing it can be,” said Dir-Munoz. "Being a part of the project where the people have control over their communities and access drives that advocacy element that extends long after the trip.”

Among the challenges of the actual health care, Dir-Munoz had to step up as a mentor of the undergraduate students on the trip. Standing in the same shoes of these students just a few years ago, she “realized that the biggest thing that you want as a student is somebody just to support you but also push you, so that you don't stay in your comfort zone.”

Dir-Munoz also emphasized the importance of presence while on the service trip. Students may come into the service trip cohort with the impression that this is a moment for them to just practice their medical skills. And while that certainly is a portion, Dir-Munoz's mentorship implored students to look towards the actual people they are serving.

“What is your role as a student? It's not to be their primary care provider, but it's to be in relationship with these people,” said Dir-Munoz. “I feel like that was something that I was really trying to push forward, is, don't lose this feeling of compassion in your work.”

Alongside Dir-Munoz and the Guatemala Medical Service Project, this year, the Global Health Pathway (GHP) program returned to Cobán for the third time. The GHP program is a graduate-only experience in Regis’ Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions, providing immersive health care experiences locally and abroad. The GHP has also partnered with the Ciudad de la Esperanza to provide specialized care to the community in Cobán in tandem with the Guatemala Medical Service Project.

This year’s group included five doctoral students of Regis’ physical therapy program, alongside faculty members Jean Marie Berliner, Ph.D. and Karene Boos, Ph.D. While they partnered heavily with Ciudad de la Esperanza, supporting their ongoing physical therapy initiatives, the group also worked with other local organizations, including the Escuela De Educación Especial Y Centro De Rehabilitación Integral (EDECRI), in various locations around Guatemala.

As Berliner described, the students exchanged ideas and techniques with local nurses and therapists while working with medically complex patients. The team also improved accessibility in the clinic by constructing and modifying their own adaptive equipment while distributing donated supplies to local organizations.

“Our students are trying to give back to their community,” said Berliner. “Our goal is to form partnerships and sustainability, while our students have a collaborative experience.”

Among the many milestones this year, the clinic experienced a change that shows the impact that one alumna has had on the community. Dr. Lauri Pramuk, M.D., founder of the Guatemala Medical Service Project, has been in service to the community in Cobán for more than 15 years. Her dedication to the clinic is shown through her organizing with students, fundraising efforts and personal medical care that she provides.

To celebrate Dr. Pramuk, the clinic was renamed in her honor to La Doctora Laurel Pramuk Clínica de Atención Integral en Salud (Dr. Laurel Pramuk Comprehensive Health Care Clinic). On the second day of the service trip, Lauri Pramuk, alongside her husband and Regis faculty member, Chris Pramuk, Ph.D., was surprised by the invitation to unveil the signage showcasing the new name. Among tears and laughter, Dr. Pramuk said, “If I wanted any place to have my name on it, it would certainly be this place. Thank you.”

From alumni returning to mentor and doctoral physical therapy students providing specialized care, to a memorable renaming of the clinic, Regis continues its collaborative efforts in Guatemala. To learn more about the Guatemala Medical Service Project, visit https://www.rubuildingcapacity.com/.

To learn more about the Global Health Pathway program visit https://www.regis.edu/academics/colleges-and-schools/rueckert-hartman/global-health-pathway.