Alumni
2005-2014
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Read More about Erin Bassett-Novoa (2009)Erin Bassett-Novoa (2009)
Medical student and summer intern; Now: Family Physician, Lawrence, MA and Santiago Atitlán
Erin Bassett-Novoa (2009)
Medical student and summer intern; Now: Family Physician, Lawrence, MA and Santiago Atitlán
Erin Bassett-Novoa, MD is a family physician currently serving the community at the Hospitalito Atitlan in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala. Her connection to the region began in 2009 when, as a first-year medical student at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, she participated in the Guatemala Health Initiative and volunteered at the Hospitalito. It was there that she met her husband, Ricardo, an engineer from Santiago Atitlan.
Erin’s passion for global health and service led her to return to Santiago Atitlan between her third and fourth years of medical school to continue her work at the Hospitalito and the local Centro de Salud. By the time she finished medical school, she knew she wanted to return to the area long-term.
After completing her family medicine residency at the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center in Massachusetts, where she gained additional training in obstetrics (including C-sections and the care of high-risk obstetric patients), she served as an attending physician for five years. During this time, she cared for patients across all ages, supervised resident teams in inpatient medicine, and provided comprehensive care, including pediatrics and obstetrics.
In 2022, Erin and her family decided to return to Santiago Atitlan full-time. She now divides her time between Guatemala and the U.S., working 80% of the year at the Hospitalito Atitlan and returning to Greater Lawrence Family Health Center for 10 weeks each year.
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Read More about Jung Kim (2009)Jung Kim (2009)
Field School in Community Health Research student, Now: SVP Operations Sylvan Health and Yoga Instructor
Jung Kim (2009) Website
Jung Kim (2009)
Field School in Community Health Research student, Now: SVP Operations Sylvan Health and Yoga Instructor
Jung Kim (2009) Website
Jung is a Senior Vice President for Operations at Sylvan Health. Sylvan Health is devoted to making health easier through personalized nutrition. Jung was one of the early GHI students who established the foundation of community engagement in Santiago Atitlán.
Since GHI Jung grew her interest in health care research to build systems within innovative corporations like Cerner and NeuroFlow. For more than 12 years she has led operations in health related technology industry.
2015-2024
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Read More about Heta Patel (2019)Heta Patel (2019)
Student Intern and Spring break trip; Now: Internal Medicine resident at Penn Medicine
Heta Patel (2019)
Student Intern and Spring break trip; Now: Internal Medicine resident at Penn Medicine
Dr. Heta Patel is an Internal Medicine resident at Penn Medicine. Heta graduated from The College at Penn with a major in Health & Societies and minor in Hispanic studies and matriculated into medical school at Perelman School of Medicine in 2021. Dr. Patel graduated from PSOM in 2025 with a academic concentration on Quality Improvement and Patient Safety. In the community, she has focused on starting several programs including:
- Creating Casa Colibri, or Hummingbird House with a Penn classmate and with Santiago NGO partner: Puerta Abierta. Casa Colibri is dedicated to addressing domestic violence and mental health support. It is the recipient of several grants including the Davis Projects for Peace and FCAM.
- Co-founding a new clinic in partnership with the African Family Health Organization serving Philadelphia's African and Caribbean immigrant populations.
- Founding Lockdown Letters in March 2020 to provide support for workers during the COVID pandemic.
- Collaborating with several initiatives dedicated towards the health needs of the local Latino community (Puentes de Salud, Center for Surgical Health).
