Health care is essential to life and happiness.  Life decisions become difficult, because many families in the DR have household incomes that only allow them to buy food.  If there is a choice between buying necessary medicines or food to feed a family, food is purchased and the medicines are not.  As a result, minor health problems often become more serious. 

In 1995 Bishop Holguin decided to convert an abandoned Episcopal school in San Pedro into a medical clinic for the poor.  The diocese owned the building, but did not have the funds to remodel the deteriorated building nor purchase the necessary medical equipment.   The Bishop was convinced that the clinic was God's will, and somehow the funds would be provided.  He was right, but it took three years of planning, hard work, and a series of miracles.  God's timing is always perfect.   The clinic opened a week after Hurricane George devastated the San Pedro area in September of 1998.

Foundation Esperanza International   

Many churches, organizations, and individuals have supported and continue to support Clínica Esperanza.  However, the foundation Esperanza International was and is an essential partner in the growth and development of the clinic.  The foundation, founded by former baseball star David Valle, has from the beginning provided hope, encouragement and financial support to a diocese whose dreams have always exceeded its financial ability.

The mission statement of the Clinic is: "To offer quality, low-cost physical, mental and spiritual services to the poor in the areas general health, and specialized medicine and physical rehabilitation."

 The clinic charges for its services based on a patient's ability to pay.  Through experience the diocese has learned that people place greater value on services when they pay for them, even though the cost may be minimal.    However, no patient is turned away, because of their personal economic condition.

There are public health services and hospitals in the DR.  The services are often less than adequate, because of the overwhelming number of people these facilities must serve.  Furthermore, the poor do not have the financial ability  to pay for medical specialists.  So, the diocese determined that it needed to provide specialty services to the less fortunate.

Services offered by the clinic include: general medicine; physical rehabilitation; dentistry, cardiology, pediatrics, gynecology, mental health counseling, pharmacy, and a medical laboratory.  

Focus on Health Education

 The clinic also focuses on health education.  In the Dominican Republic, many children under the age of 5 are malnourished and, therefore, susceptible to preventable diseases. Mothers in rural and inner-city regions in the San Pedro area have little access to health education or medical treatment. These regions also have severe sanitation problems and children frequently contract intestinal parasites which can increase their risk of infection and other more severe problems.  The focus of the ministry of missionaries Drs. Michael and Anita Dohn is health education.  The early results of their work have been very positive.  The clinic is expanding these programs and becoming even more active in the AIDS epidemic.    

The number of patients served increases each year.  In order to take care of the growing demand, the Diocese received a United Thanking Offering grant to increase by 1/3 the size of the clinic.  Not only will the clinic be able to increase the number of services it provides, but the expansion will allow more space for its physical rehabilitation program.

   Physical Rehabilitation

The clinics rehabilitation program is underwritten by the Asociacion Dominicana de Rehabilitacion, Inc.  This national organization oversees several rehabilitation programs in the country.  Until the clinic's program was founded in 1999, those people who could not afford private rehabilitation services had to travel by bus to Santo Domingo or La Romana.  Therefore, rehabilitation problems among the poor often went unattended, because they could not afford the bus fare. 

Though physical therapy is the heart of the program, the clinic also provides psychological counseling and orthopedics workshops.  Three years ago, the clinic instituted an occupational therapy program to re-integrate the physically disabled into the work force.

The number of consultations and therapy services continue to increase.  Rotary Clubs International has play an important role in the the clinic by providing equipment. 

The Hummingbird Project

In December 2001, Clínica Esperanza held a medical clinic in a sugar cane batey (village).  Twenty pap smears were taken and, surprisingly, all the results were abnormal. While all women had infections. four of the women had cancerous cells..

Based on these results, the clinic decided it needed to develop a woman's health program.   A government survey recently showed that women are the head of the family in 70% of those families living below the poverty level.  By focusing on women health issues, the clinic will have an impact on their families, as well. 

As a result, the clinic developed its Hummingbird Program early in 2002.  The project gets its name from this story:

One day there was a fire in the jungle and all the animals were desperately running away it to save themselves. However, there was a small hummingbird who was filling its beak in a nearby river, and then was flying to fire, and dropping the water on the flames.

The Hummingbird kept flying back and forth between the river and the fire. . . back and forth, back and forth.  

An elephant who arrived at the river to quench his thirst, observed with great interest the actions of the Hummingbird.  After several trips by the Hummingbird, the elephant said: “Hummingbird, perhaps you are fooling yourself.  Do you really think you can extinguish the fire?'

The Hummingbird responded, "I know that I can't extinguish the five, but it is important that I do my part."

Clinic Esperanza knows it cannot solve all the health issues facing women and families.  But the clinic is trying to do its part.  You can also do your part. For $125 US you can provide a women with a  health check including lab tests and any medicines required to solve a health problem.