In 2001 Peggy Stranges, RN permanently relocated to Roatan after 14 years of coordinating medical and dental mission teams that volunteer services to Honduras.  As a nursing volunteer on Roatan, Peggy was acutely aware of the critical need for health services and made it her goal to help the people of Roatan to obtain accessible medical services. 

In 2002, Peggy opened “the clinic” from her kitchen table and started serving her local community of Sandy Bay and La Colonia.  La Clinica Esperanza (the “Clinic”), as it is now called, currently provides low-cost and free healthcare services to these communities and relies primarily on donations.    

Currently, donations of money and land, as well as construction materials and labor are being offered to build a new and larger clinic and to create an endowment to fund a full-time salary for local doctors and staff.  These offers present a great opportunity to ensure the continued viability of the Clinic and to expand the services offered.  The Clinic is now seeking governmental recognition to enable it to become a formal entity whereby it can facilitate ownership of land, receipt of contributions, and operate on a tax-exempt basis.  This recognition and legitimacy will enable the Clinic to build an endowment to secure its future and the future health of the communities it serves. 

La Clinica Esperanza

The Clinic is currently located in Sandy Bay adjacent to Anthony’s Key Resort.  While the primary mission of the Clinic is to serve the residents of Sandy Bay and La Colonia, all people are welcome.  The Clinic treats approximately 30-40 patients in a typical day.  It operates four days per week, starting at 8 a.m. and closes when the last patient has been seen.  Further, the Clinic is available nearly 24 hours a day, and since Miss Peggy close to the clinic, many patients do visit for urgent/emergent issues at non-posted times.

The Clinic welcomes all patients. Approximately 60% of patients are children, 30% are adult females, and 10% are adult males.  More than ,1000 patients consider the Clinic to be their primary medical care provider. It is recognized as the ‘center’ for diabetes and hypertension on Roatan.  Thus far, more than 5,000 patients have been treated in the Clinic.

Patients have come from as far as Punta Gorda, Diamond Rock, Coxen Hole, French Harbour, and the mainland to seek treatment or medications.  Due to the limited number of medical facilities and available medications on Roatan, the Clinic provides a greatly needed service for people who would otherwise likely not seek treatment due to transportation costs and the crowded condition of the local public hospital. 

Services Provided

The Clinic provides a number of services to its patients and the community. Patients are treated for urgent and acute care problems, such as upper respiratory tract infections, malaria and minor orthopedic and traumatic injuries. Some problems are too complex for a clinic visit, and these patients are referred to the public hospital in Coxen Hole. In addition, the clinic has been instrumental in facilitating the transfer of a number of patients elsewhere for more complex medical procedures.

It also manages chronic problems requiring lifetime care, such as hypertension and diabetes. There is a high incidence of both of these diseases on Roatan and many patients have never been previously treated. The Clinic is actively involved in preventative medicine and lifestyle modification. All patients are instructed on such things as nutrition, exercise, and preventative medical care. The goal is to prevent the long-term serious sequelae.

Pediatric services address acute care issues such as fevers, asthma, skin infections, dehydration, diarrhea, and intestinal parasites, as well as education for maintenance of healthy lifestyles. The Clinic is strongly involved in education including personal and dental hygiene, healthy eating, regular exercise, and encouraging school attendance.

The Clinic has a well-stocked pharmacy from generous donations from various international organizations and individuals. One of the most important aspects of the Clinic is the availability of current and appropriate medications that are often otherwise unavailable to the patients.  The Clinic also provides donated medications to other clinics and the public hospital on a regular basis.

The charge to the patient is a 20 Limpira donation (about $1), and is waived if the patient is unable to pay. The small charge encourages patients to value their healthcare and to preserve their dignity. Patients often choose to give a larger donation when able. Necessary medications are provided without any additional charge.

Common Medical Problems

The Clinic sees a number of common medical problems. These include upper respiratory tract infections, asthma, colds, headaches, sore throat and tonsillitis, local skin infections, gastritis and gastroenteritis, parasitic infections, malaria, wound care, hypertension, diabetes, toothaches, sinusitis, arthritis, and well child check-ups. Prenatal patients are also monitored and provided prenatal vitamins.

Staffing

Since July of 2005 the Clinic is fortunate to have a full time physician Dr. Raymond Cherrington, born and educated in Honduras along with Peggy Stranges, RN. as director.   She has an extensive and varied background in general nursing and was Clinic Nurse Supervisor with The Ohio State University, College of Dentistry.  The Clinic also welcomes regular physician, dentist and nurse volunteers for short or long-term medical work trips. These physicians see patients in the Clinic along with Dr. Cherrington, help develop protocols and plans for long-term individual patient care, and participate in active medical education of the local staff. Many of these physicians also volunteer and teach in the public hospital at Coxen Hole and at other clinics on Roatan. These work trips allow for experts from abroad to be involved in local patient care, and more importantly for local providers, to share in current diagnoses and treatment modalities. The Clinic helps local providers by coordinating volunteer services and resources as needed and requested.

Throughout the year, a number of dental teams visit the Clinic. These teams include both the dentists and their support staff. The Clinic has a full dental setup, but often the teams bring additional medications and supplies. These teams provide hygiene care, restorative care, education, preventive services, and extractions.

There are also a number of local volunteers who understand the value of the services provided and seek to help in any way they can. Some have formal medical training, while others simply have an interest in learning and helping. These volunteers help with administration, triage, translation and nursing responsibilities such as blood pressure and vital sign measurements, patient intake, and dispensing of medications. Many of the local children help out by assisting to keep the Clinic area clean.

Future Development Plans

The Clinic is currently planning expansion into a new 3000 square foot, two-story facility.  One half acre of land in Sandy Bay (across from Anthony’s Key Resort) has been donated for the site of a larger clinic.  The construction material and labor has been donated and the building should be completed in the near future.

This new clinic will have two treatment rooms, a small surgical suite, a dental suite, a pharmacy, an office, and a large waiting room that will be available for community events and educational opportunities.  Located on the upper floor will be a birthing center and pediatric impatient care facility.   The woman and child center will necessitate increasing to 24 hour staffing. 

Once the new Clinic is operational it will expand the services provided in an effort to improve the general health and welfare of the served communities.  Planned services include the following:

1.  Full-time local staff

Funding for more full-time physicians, nurses and office staff.

2.  Dental services

A full time local dentist. Several organizations have expressed interest in providing materials for a two-chair dental suite that will provide cleaning, extraction and restoration.

3.  Woman’s and Children’s Center

Our hope is that the birthing center will provide a clean, safe place for mothers to give birth with the expert assistance of trained personnel.  The Infant and Pediatric ward will provide expert care of the newborns, as well as all children needing inpatient care.

4.  AIDS and tuberculosis hospice

The AIDS and TB hospice will be located in the second proposed building.  The facility will provide comfort and care to individuals suffering from these deadly diseases.

5.  Day care center

The day care program seeks to alleviate the problem of older siblings failing to attend school in order to provide childcare for their younger siblings.  The program will provide supervision and educational activities for the children.  This will also provide daycare for the many, anticipated staff members.

6.  Nutrition/Lunch program

The lunch program will provide a hot meal for both the children in the daycare program and for the local schoolchildren.  Food for the Poor, an organization based in Tampa, Florida and local restaurants have agreed to provide the food necessary to operate this program.

Funding

In order to expand and secure the valuable services provided by the Clinic, we have partnered with the Bay Islands Community Healthcare Association which is now seeking to attain NGO status within Honduras to enable it to accept major cash contributions and build an endowment to ensure the continuation of services. 

Several persons have expressed an interest in donating substantial funding to the Clinic.  There is a 501c3 through which to donate tax-exempt money in the United States