Clinic in San Miguel
Off the highway and up a small hill on a tree-lined, potholed road one finds San Miguel, a rural community west of Santo Domingo, the capital city. Moving about a mile down the road from the highway, a small clearing appears on the left, the first section of which contains a concrete playground, the second portion holds a church, Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal M.I. with school classrooms beneath and finally the third section holds a second part of the school building below ground level. This third section currently also houses the medical clinic.
On the first floor of the school (Centro Educativo Evangelico Vida Y Poder) is where the medical clinic in San Miguel has been located. We hope to move it up to the road level soon, so that it will be more accessible to patients. As you descend down the cement stairs to the lower level and around back of the school building you will find, Monday through Friday, a dedicated doctor, nurse and secretary to help whomever in the community may need their assistance.
The clinic is staffed by Dr. Fernando Polanco, a recent medical school graduate. He works alongside Nurse Leanidas Manzueta. This team cares for approximately 100 patients per week during the morning hours when the clinic is open. Working in rather austere conditions with a limited amount of space, technology and medications, they seek to provide whatever the patients might need.
The common illnesses of the people in San Miguel are infections, aches and pains, poor nutritional status, and the problems of aging, in particular hypertension and diabetes.
The clinic charges patients 50 pesos (less than $2.00) if they are able to pay. If not, they will be seen for something less or for free. All the funds received for the doctor's visit, which includes laboratory tests and medications, is put directly back into the operation of the clinic to care for those in need. The Foundation for Peace works with various pharmaceutical companies, most notably TEVA pharmaceuticals, to obtain donations of prescription medications to allow Dr. Polanco and his staff to treat as many of the acute diseases and chronic conditions as possible. All in the community are served, regardless of their age, race, religion or economic status.
During the summer of 2006, the a mission team from Woodside Presbyterian Church in Yardley, Pennsylvania will begin the process of constructing a medical clinic with easier access for the community. They will be constructing the footings adjacent to the playground they completed last summer that will support a medical clinic at road level. Under the clinic the school plans to construct a small store/café that has access to the playground, providing school children and the community (during non-school hours) food and other items.
The new clinic will have expanded space, so that additional Dominican physicians could join the team and will provide space for specialists from the United States to join them in serving those with specific needs in the community. This new and expanded clinic will be furnished with used medical clinic furniture generously donated by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (East Hanover, NJ). We know from previous work that small clinics like these can have a profound positive impact on the community. Drs Alberto and Rosalina Martinez established a number of them in outlying areas around Santo Domingo. They served there for years, treating those who otherwise were left to suffer without access to needed medical care.
Unlike most rural communities in the Dominican Republic, San Miguel has a source of clean water. Therefore we believe that we have a real opportunity to improve the overall health is this community by teaching about disease prevention. By providing nutritional advice and vitamin supplements and by having an inexpensive (or free) medical clinic that people can trust to be there when it is needed, we believe we can provide that education and impact the community in profound ways.
The Foundation for Peace is dedicated to being more than an organization who comes into a community to work on one or two projects and then move on. Rather we are dedicated to forming long-term partnerships with the community and tackling the array of problems that keep people in poverty. We see our work as a program aimed at poverty relief that involves both working directly in the community hand-in-hand with the people and through attention to social justice issues that need attention in the broader context.
The operation of this clinic costs between $800 and $1,000 each month. If you'd like to become a supporter of this clinic, please click on the donate now button and make a donation. Each dollar donated goes directly for use in the clinic, there is no administrative fee extracted by the Foundation for Peace. If you have usable medical equipment, bandages, medications, vitamins or other donations, please contact ken@foundationforpeace.org to arrange a pickup of your donations.