Global Health in Mexico (Puerto Escondido)

Program participants will find their home away from home in carefully selected homestays, screened by CFHI Local Coordinators in Puerto Escondido and following CFHI’s health and safety guidelines. Homestays are located in Bacocho and Rinconada, both middle to upper class residential neighborhoods, as well as El Centro, a busy part of town, and offer the perfect blend of comfort and authenticity, with excellent access to clinical sites, the language school, public transportation, shops, restaurants, and cafes. In some cases, CFHI scholars share a house or a room in the same homestay with fellow program participants.

Going beyond mere lodging, these homestays provide a unique opportunity to learn about the local culture and practice Spanish skills on a daily basis in an informal setting. Accommodations include two meals per day. At the welcome orientation, participants will be instructed on culture and work etiquette to have the best experience in both homestay and the health setting.

Participants should arrive in Puerto Escondido on the program start date before 8pm to be picked up from the airport by a CFHI representative and taken to the language school to meet with the Local Coordinator, or to their homestay depending on arrival time. A welcome orientation and dinner will take place the Sunday after arrival.

Visas are not required for U.S. citizens staying less than 6 months in Mexico. More information on travel and logistics will be provided by CFHI after acceptance into the program.

What’s Included

CFHI Program fees include the majority of your on the ground costs. As a nonprofit, CFHI strives to keep fees low and offers fundraising opportunities, scholarships and discounts.

Pre-Departure Support

• Program advising and support via email, phone, and web meeting from CFHI’s Central Leadership team
• Detailed online Pre-Departure Training that includes modules on program logistics (flights, visas, immunizations, and more), intercultural learning, introduction to health realities at your program site, and much more

On-Site Services

• Airport pick-up upon arrival and transportation with a local CFHI representative to your program lodging
• Welcome orientation 1-2 days after arrival covering safety, transportation, and other logistics
• Spanish Classes: approximately 20-30 hours/month of Spanish classes, consisting of either 15 two-hour small group Medical Spanish classes OR 15 one-and-a-half-hour private classes. Students will receive a workbook for their entire course that covers grammar and medical spanish vocabulary. A diploma will be given to the student at the end of the course that accredits the level obtained
• CFHI Local Team that provides instruction, logistical support, and 24/7 emergency response
• Meetings and lectures on local healthcare system, socio-economic determinants of health and current cultural/historical topics. 
• Placement and coordination of clinical and any public health activities (if relevant)
• Accommodation and two meals per day
• Support obtaining a local SIM card if needed
• International emergency medical and evacuation insurance (unless waived by your university or institution)

Post-Return Resources

• Opportunities to engage as a CFHI Alumni Ambassador, reviewing scholarship applications, speaking on CFHI panels, and more
• Access to CFHI alumni-only social media group/s featuring news and career opportunities related to Global Health
• CFHI alumni newsletter highlighting events, professional development opportunities, resources, and ways to stay involved

Uniquely, 60% or more of CFHI student program fees go directly to the communities they will be visiting, benefiting the local economy at large.

Ashley Thornhill

Ashley was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised outside of Atlanta, Georgia. She received her B.S. in Biochemistry from Oakwood University, MPH in Global Health from Loma Linda University and is completing her M.S. in Biotechnology at Johns Hopkins University.

Ashley’s passion for women’s reproductive health was nurtured through collaboration with CFHI in Puerto Escondido, Mexico. Her dedication to addressing global health disparities led her to work in Guyana, Ecuador, and Tanzania.

Ashley has previously served as a Duke Global Health Fellow at the World Health Organization, a Global Health Fellow for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and is a current Gates Millennium Scholar.

At the CDC, she contributed to a sustainability evaluation of a program to reduce maternal mortality in Tanzania. She shared her unique experiences with the CDC community through publication, highlighting her team’s contribution to reducing maternal mortality.

She is dedicated to improving the quality of healthcare for underserved communities through a career of service as a physician.

In her free time she enjoys reading, singing and traveling with her husband and family.