By Karilyn Vides
At Companion Communities Development Alternatives (CoCoDA) we know that health knows no borders. This March 2026, we started the MedStar Health Program in El Salvador with great enthusiasm, a program in collaboration with Georgetown University that brings resident doctors from different specialties to live an immersive experience in the country.
Dr. Daniel Jaeger (left); Dr. Abigail Solorio (right)
A Pioneering Experience
We received Dr. Daniel Jaeger and Dr. Abigail Solorio, the first two residents to be part of this program in El Salvador. Both doing medical rotations in:
- Suchitoto National Hospital (HONSU)
- Suchitoto Health Unit (SIBASI)
- United for Health Association Clinic (ASUSA)
- Rural communities, carrying out check-ups on pregnant women together with the Association of Midwives of Suchitoto “Rosa María Andrade.”
Dr. Daniel Jaeger lived in El Salvador for 5 weeks, he took Spanish classes at the Pájaro Flor school and lived with a local Salvadoran family, immersing himself in the daily life of Suchitoto.
Dr. Abigail Solorio has also been living with a host family during her stay, and her four-week visit to the country will come to an end on May 22.
Why Is It Important?
The fact that resident doctors know first-hand the reality of access to health in El Salvador transforms their perspective profoundly. Confronting communities’ real challenges, limited resources, geographic distances, cultural barriers, and structural inequality gives them an understanding that no textbook can teach.
This immersive, scientific, and cultural experience expands the vision of future doctors, training them as better professionals and as human beings more aware of global inequalities in health. Physicians who have lived through the Latin American reality return with a sensitivity and commitment that transform their professional and human practice.
As Dr. Jaeger talks about his experience to other interested doctors:
“The most important thing is that people come up with an idea that’s going to be a little uncomfortable because you’re going to be out of your comfort zone, but that’s part of the process. I would tell you that we are here to learn and observe and enjoy culture, and more than all that, to learn… of the health system, the culture, the food, the people. We are not here to pretend that we are doctors with a license, practicing on our own. But it’s a very good opportunity for residents who want to be framed in a different culture, a different language, and a different place.”
Dr. Daniel Jaeger, Georgetown University MedStar Health Emergency Medicine Resident
Our Mission: Genuine Ties
At CoCoDA, we fulfill our mission to create genuine bonds of friendship between El Salvador and the United States, to build more just relations in Latin America. For this reason, at the beginning of each program, we offer an orientation on national history and Salvadoran culture, facilitated by our team of representatives in El Salvador: Karilyn Vides and Enrique Pineda.
They also guide those who join CoCoDA’s historic delegations, ensuring that each experience is framed in respect and mutual knowledge.
As Dr. Solorio remarks,
“It is very interesting to learn about a totally different health system. It is not only about depending on technology or perhaps resources, but also having a relationship with patients to see how we can all move forward. Be creative in the way we make a plan or a treatment for patients. Many times it focuses more on that.”
Dr. Abigail Solorio, Georgetown University MedStar Health Family Medicine Resident
The experience is a holistic way to see a world in Central America very differently compared to the way Doctors are used to in the United States, and as our first two Doctors from Georgetown University have recognized, it is more than just doing a comparison about the resources. It is about creating bonds with respect and expanding the consciousness to other people with other realities.
“We are excited to be a part of this experience and to see the MedStar Health Program grow in El Salvador. Each resident who arrives in Suchitoto becomes one more bridge between our communities, bringing us closer to a more just and supportive relationship between our countries”
Karilyn Vides, CoCoDA Program and Projects Manager
Welcome, Dr. Jaeger, Dr. Solorio, and Georgetown University! Thank you for being a part of this story.
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