Dominican Republic

•  About the Hospital

  Established in 2003, the CURE Dominican Republic Hospital was CURE's first presence in Latin America. Located in the capital city of Santo Domingo, the hospital is a pediatric orthopedic hospital that provides inpatient surgical and rehabilitative care to disabled children.

  The hospital serves more than 700 outpatients each month and maintains a very active spiritual ministry. The hospital regularly sends surgical teams into Haiti and has established a satellite clinic in Puerto Plata on the northern coast to provide outreach, referral and follow-up services to the local community and Haitian refugees who have settled in this area.

  It is estimated that about 7% of the general population of the Dominican Republic is disabled, meaning that there are more than 400,000 Dominicans with disabilities, many of them children and most of them coming from the lower socio-economic classes. There are very few support networks or social services in Dominican Republic that offer help and hope to the disabled. Less than 15% of the disabled in the Dominican Republic have access to any sort of rehabilitation services, and what services do exist are often affordable only by families who are able to pay, certainly not the majority of those in need. Most public hospitals are in extremely poor condition and must deal with crisis situations rather than a disability which is not always viewed as something worth treating.

  The CURE Dominican Republic Hospital is providing compassionate care to disabled children who now have the opportunity to experience walking, running and even smiling for the first time in their lives.

•  About the Country

  Dominican Republic

  

  The Dominican Republic is on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean, between Cuba and Puerta Rico. The Dominican Republic occupies 2/3 of Hispaniola, while Haiti occupies the remaining third.

  Country Facts

  Population: 9,952,711

  Climate: tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation, seasonal variation in rainfall

  Nationality: Dominican

  Language: Spanish

  Capital: Santo Domingo

  Percent population under age of 15: 31%

  Years of life expectancy at birth: 73

  Infant mortality (per 1000 live births): 25

  Child mortality (death before age 5): 35

  Per capital health expenditure: $295

  Sources: CIA World Factbook and World Health Organization

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