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By Audrey Lenhart
This past March, Doctors for Global Health Advisory Council member Clay Lenhart and I traveled to Mexico to visit Hospital San Carlos, in Altamirano, Chiapas. Our visit was the second made to the area by members of our group. Four months earlier, four MDS/DGH members made the first inroad towards building a working relationship with the health promoters who volunteer with Hospital San Carlos. (MDS was DGH's partner organization in El Salvador between 1995 and 2004.) A Mexican physician, who is the coordinator and international representative of the local health promoters, had invited them to visit and coordinate with their efforts. The group was very impressed with the work done by Hospital San Carlos.
The primary purpose of our trip was to enable better communication between the hospital's administrators and their supporters around the world, including DGH members. We accomplished this by installing electronic mail (hospsncarlos@laneta.com) . In addition, we had in-depth discussions with Sister Florencia, the administrator of the hospital, to better understand their needs and investigate further opportunities for collaboration between Doctors for Global Health and the hospital.
Located in a primarily indigenous region about 500 miles southeast of Mexico City, Hospital San Carlos serves nearly 826 communities through its medical facility and community based programs. The hospital was started in 1973 by a group of Roman Catholic nuns and has grown significantly, both physically and in patient load, over the past 24 years. It receives no state aid and was the only hospital in the area for nearly 20 years. The recently built state hospital hasn't improved matters much. It is only open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and practices medicine without taking the cultural necessities of the community into consideration. For example, the indigenous peoples living in Chiapas have conserved much of their cultural heritage, including their languages. Hospital San Carlos has created a program that provides translation for any of the five indigenous languages native to the region. In addition, since most patients have to come from quite a distance and their families are very poor, Hospital San Carlos allows family members to stay in the hospital with their sick relative.
Our time with the sisters was very inspiring. They are a truly amazing group of women who have put their lives on the line to work alongside their indigenous brothers and sisters. Their vision of hope for a Mexico free from social injustice is the driving force behind their actions. Doubt does not taint the passion these women have for their work even though the hospital has suffered in many ways as a result of the recent Mexican conflict.
Due to their ministry toward the indigenous populations, the nuns and other hospital
workers have been labeled as "subversive." They have received numerous threats
and the army keeps them under constant surveillance.
During our brief stay at the hospital, electricity was cut off for three days (strangely,
all of the buildings on the street had electricity except for those associated with the
hospital), the phone lines were periodically cut, and the sound of low flying army planes
overhead was not uncommon.
Along more economic lines, Hospital San Carlos has seen a decline in donations over the past few years. Over one-third of their operating budget each month relies on private donations. Previously, most of these donations came from within Mexico. However, with the advent of the conflict, many Mexicans do not want to be associated with the hospital due to the possibility of severe political implications. For the same reasons, Mexican physicians are now scared to work there, and many foreign doctors also worry about their personal safety.
A couple of days before we left, Clay and I had a long talk with Sister Florencia, during which she shared with us ways people could help Hospital San Carlos. Above all, she emphasized the need to put continuous pressure on the Mexican government to comply with the Accords of San Andres through writing letters to Mexican government officials. Although currently combat is minimal, tensions are high as the government has yet to comply with the Accords, which were signed between the Mexican army and the Zapatista guerrillas over a year ago. The hospital itself is in dire need of many things. First and foremost, Spanish-speaking physicians and nurses are constantly needed as the hospital is quite understaffed. Most urgently needed is a surgeon. Currently, for a sizable sum of money, a surgeon visits the hospital one day a week. This is drastically insufficient for the amount of patients in the hospital and the nature of the illnesses many of them have.
Aside from the lack of necessary staffing, Hospital San Carlos is also in need of equipment and supplies, some of which are listed below:
Of course, monetary donations are always needed and welcome. For more information on how to get money or supplies to Hospital San Carlos, or to find out more about the hospital's needs, please feel free to contact me through the DGH office.
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