American Foundation Helps Costa Rican Town Receive Its First Healthcare Clinic
For the first time, the residents of Alajuelita (South of San José), have local access to acute and preventive healthcare services as a result of a new clinic established by the Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children (FIMRC).

The beneficiaries of this clinic are primarily uninsured single women and their children who are the country’s poorest of the poor.

Despite a 1999 Pan American Health Organization estimation that 89% of the population is covered through Costa Rica’s universal healthcare program, the very poor remain uninsured. In Alajuelita, its 12,500 residents comprised of Nicaraguan refuges and Costa Ricans are part of the population who do not benefit from this national program.

The clinic is staffed daily by Medical Director Dr. Christian Elizondo, a local physician, and a nurse. FIMRC has also established partnerships with local community centers in and around San Jose, such as the Hospital Nacional de Niños (National Children’s Hospital) and el Hogar de Ancianos (A Home for the Elderly).

FIMRC student volunteers from the University of California, Los Angeles will also be working at the clinic. Additional student volunteers from other colleges and universities across the country will join the clinic staff in the coming months. FIMRC estimates that the clinic, which is open Monday through Friday, will serve approximately 15 to 20 patients a day. Recognizing the severe shortage of healthcare services in the town, the mayor of Alajuelita graciously donated the office space that houses the clinic.

The long term goals for the clinic, which opened on September 9, are to: (1) perform bi-annual well-child visits for children in the community, documenting height and weight, as well as tracking other indicators of overall health; (2) decrease the number of underweight children and improve child nutrition; (3) decrease prevalence of endemic diseases and common illnesses from microbial infections; and (4) promote and maintain health education programs for child and maternal health.

In addition to acute and preventive care, the other primary focus of the clinic is health education. Tragically, many Costa Rican children are not in school long enough to receive vital health information. According to UNICEF, three out of every 10 children in Costa Rica drop out of school before completing basic general education, and eight of them do not complete secondary studies within the allotted time frame. FIMRC’s extensive on-site health education program covers topics such as healthy snacks, personal health and hygiene as well as fitness.

Vik Bakhru, chairman and founder of FIMRC, stated, "The opening of this clinic is hopefully the first of many healthcare milestones for these residents. The problem is not that they are poor; the problem is a matter of injustice. That they remain outside of the healthcare coverage system is simply unacceptable. I am confident that FIMRC’s preventive care can make a difference."

An August 2005 report from the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization indicates how vital the services provided by FIMRC are to Costa Rica, "The region of the Americas has made great progress in the past quarter century, but persistently overburdened health systems and widening inequities threaten gains already made and endanger future progress towards better health and human development."

FIMRC is a 501(c)3 global non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for children by providing both direct and indirect medical support. Its foremost goal is to ensure that the basic medical needs of children in underserved communities are met. This is accomplished by establishing pediatric medical clinics in areas of need around the world. It is a self-sustaining organization, raising money only as it needs it.