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| The entrance to the St. Benedict Joseph Medical Center. |
On several different occasions during my stay in Honduras I had the opportunity to visit the St. Benedict Joseph Medical Center not far from our friary on the outskirts of town. The surgical center/clinic was established in 2004 to provide for the unmet medical needs of the very poor by welcoming visiting teams of surgeons and providing regular, ongoing medical attention.
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| The courtyard and and adjoining passageway of the medical center. |
All services are given free of charge to the poor, and everything at the center helps to communicate the love of Christ and affirm the dignity of those who are served there, from the standard of medical care, to the quality of personal interaction with the staff, to the physical beauty and tangible peace that pervades the place.
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| The chapel with the Blessed Sacrament and view of the surrounding mountains. |
The heart of SBJ is the chapel on the second floor where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved. From there flows the love that is made tangible in the form of medical care received by the patients.
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| Patients waiting to be attended. |
I know of no better way to communicate the essence of the
Centro Medico San Benito Jose than to quote its mission and vision statements which hang on the wall:
Mission: To show the love of Christ to the materially poor, and to affirm their human dignity and value, by offering free of charge the highest possible quality health care in an atmosphere of faith and as part of the mission of the Catholic Church.
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| SBJ Medical Director Dr. Carlos in consultation with a patient. |
Vision: To become a beacon of hope, a source of encouragement and an expression of solidarity to poor families as they struggle to improve their lives; to positively impact and significantly improve – both in terms of treatment and prevention – the health and health consciousness of our regular patients and neighbors; to set a high professional standard of quality for health care providers and others who serve the disadvantaged; and to inspire other similar efforts, in a spirit of faith and impelled by the love of Christ, to meet the many severe needs of those who live in poverty.
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SBJ nursing staff in main lobby; a painting of the center's patron,
St. Benedict Joseph Labre hangs in the background beside a portrait
of Fr. Benedict Groeschel, CFR in whose honor the center is named. |
For more information on the St.Benedict Joseph Medical Center, visit its website at:
http://www.sbjhonduras.com/
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