Global Pediatrics Program

"I was raised in a suburb of San Francisco and had a very “normal” childhood. However, as I finished high school in the midst of the Rwandan Genocide my life changed. The atrocities portrayed on television were heart wrenching and motivated me to search for a way to make a difference.

I wandered through academia for my first few years of college but by the time I was 20 years-old, I decided the best way for me to help the less fortunate was to work as a doctor. Then during medical school and residency, I had opportunities to live my dream. I found short-term work in Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and Cameroon.

After residency, I decided to work in the developing world full-time. My first assignment was with a small organization working in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the HEAL Africa Hospital, I focused on training pediatric residents, establishing a neonatal intensive unit and improving inpatient pediatric care.

However, after completing my project in Goma, I realized that I needed further training to make a larger impact. I knew how to treat diseases and teach about treatment plans, but I wanted to become more proficient in managing large projects and advocating for the needs of my patients. Therefore, in 2011 I decided to join the Children’s Hospital Boston Pediatric International Health Fellowship." 

Chris Carpenter, MD, MPH
Pediatric Hospitalist
Boston Children's Hospital

Sara Gonzalez is a global pediatrics fellow at Boston Children's Hospital with an interest in applying QI methodology to improve delivery of healthcare in resource-limited settings.  She graduated in 2004 from University of Scranton with a BS in Neuroscience and Philosophy.  She then attended Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine - California.  She went on to complete her pediatrics residency at Geisinger Medical Center, Danville PA, where she began learning and applying QI methodology to improve delivery of pediatric care within the hospital system.  During that time she worked in Honduras and Namibia with Geisinger's support.  She began her Global Pediatrics fellowship at Boston Children's Hospital/Partners in Health in 2011.  

Dr. Gonzalez is a board-certified osteopathic pediatrician.  She was a participant in the Global Health Delivery program at Harvard School of Public Health in 2011 and looks forward to completing further studies in the area of global health delivery.  She attended the Haitian Creole Summer Institute at University of Massachusetts Boston in 2011 and plans to continue her study of Creole at University of Massachusetts in 2012. Her current work in partnership with Partners in Health/Zanmi Lasante in St. Marc, Haiti is focused on improving systems of care in pediatrics in a community hospital setting, particularly in relation to delivery of neonatal care and malnutrition.