Miami medical team embarks on mission to Caribbean

By Tom Tracy - Florida Catholic

MIAMI | It’s one thing to practice your profession well and do good things for yourself, your family and your community. But it’s a part of the Christian calling to go out to the peripheries and take your talents to the next level, according to Dr. Jorge Echenique, a urologist and a member of the Miami-based Cuban Association of the Order of Malta leading a medical delegation to the Caribbean in September.

• ‘This puts in perspective what's really important’

Dr. Echenique and the medical team of doctors, nurses, medical students, and volunteers from Florida and beyond are set to bring the biannual Medical Mission to the rural Dominican Republic Sept. 9-13.

There, near the city of Santiago de los Caballeros, the volunteers will see more than 1,000 patients for an array of medical evaluations, treatments, medication assessment and, in some cases, surgery. The medications and surgeries are provided free of charge.

The Miami team is over 100 strong this year.

“In life, you have to work hard and learn to do what you find is your forte, but then you have to step beyond the boundaries and do a little bit more to help others,” said Dr. Echenique, a parishioner at Epiphany Parish in Miami and a member of the Order of Malta since 2002.

“To spread that love and that help to others beyond your border is going one step further,” he added.

The Cuban Association’s undertaking in the Dominican Republic represents 30 years of partnering with doctors in specialties including urology, cardiology, internal medicine, pediatrics, dentistry, plastic surgery and gynecology.

Before the medical mission week commences, a permanent team in Santiago connects medically needy cases from remote and nearby villages — including communities of displaced Haitians living in the Dominican Republic — with the visiting team from Miami.

In addition, groups of medical school students and aspiring medical school applicants from around the U.S. come to work alongside veteran doctors and nurses from U.S. medical centers and teaching institutions.

• Health screenings for the uninsured

“What is really amazing more than anything else is seeing all these young (medical students and volunteers) get connected a little bit more to their faith and to see medicine for what it should be — taking care of people out of the goodness of your heart,” Dr. Echenique said.

“We bring a lot to the Dominicans, but really we take away so much more from them in the sense of a wonderful feeling inside that comes from helping others,” he emphasized.

The Cuban Association of the Order of Malta was founded in Havana in 1952, transferred its base to Spain in the 1960s, and became headquartered in Miami in the 1990s. In the 90s, the Cuban Association had 25 members “dispersed throughout the world,” according to its website. Now, most of the approximately 70 knights, dames, donates and chaplains live in South Florida.

In addition to coordinating medical missions to the Dominican Republic and Haiti, the Cuban Association collaborates with the Church in Cuba to run dining facilities for the elderly there, according to José J. Centurion, M.D.

A cardiologist in Coral Gables and a member of the Order of Malta since the 1990s, Dr. Centurion points out that what keeps the Order going is the care of the poor and the sick.

• Clinic marks 30 years of serving the poor, uninsured

He has had a connection to the Dominican Republic since first attending medical school in Santiago in the mid-1970s.

“All the work being done is in the care of the poor, the ill, the sick and the marginalized and internally displaced people,” Dr. Centurion said.

“It used to be 10 people going to the countryside, and now we are close to 120 doctors, nurses, and volunteers who work very hard for four days doing almost 60 surgeries, and we will see 1,300 single patients.”

For those aspiring to attend medical school, going on mission with the Cuban Association not only offers a character-building experience: it can be a door-opening opportunity.

“Young people who come with us can get letters (of recommendation) for their applications to medical schools, which look at this type of work with great weight and importance because they are willing to serve the communities and do this type of work,” explained Dr. Centurion.

For more information about the Order of Malta’s humanitarian and medical work, visit its website: www.ordendemaltacuba.org.