Back in December of 1943, a group of Mennonite missionaries
arrived at the municipality of Aibonito’s La
Plata sector and set up a clinic within a tobacco warehouse
owned by the local government and donated to them as
part of the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Act
Program.
In this clinic, Mennonites provided medical care to
a great number of patients who suffered from contagious
diseases that commonly afflicted the population of
the island’s mountain region. This clinic became
a hospital in 1944.
During the following years, services were extended
to the nearby areas: La Cuchilla in Barranquitas, Rabanal
in Cidra, and Pulguillas in Coamo, where clinics were
set up to provide care on an outpatient basis. In 1956,
hurricane Santa Clara rendered these facilities useless.
Thanks to the financial assistance provided by community
initiatives, the Mennonite Church and the Hill Burton
federal program, a new and modern 34-bed hospital was
inaugurated in 1956. After a growing demand for services,
in 1957 the hospital increased its capacity to 50 beds.
Presently, our Aibonito Hospital features 150 beds.
In 1975, the Mennonite Missions Board ceded the Hospital
to the town of Aibonito and at that time the institution
became a Community Hospital governed by a Board of
Directors. This Board features 13 members: six are
elected by the community, three are nominated by the
Mennonite Missions Board, three are selected by the
Mennonite Church Convention, and one is chosen by the
Medical Faculty. All members provide their services
free of charge. Mennonite General Hospital, Inc is
one of Puerto Rico’s 13 non-profit community
hospitals and is the only one providing service to
the population of the island’s central-mountain
region.
In 1989, the institution acquired the former Font
Clinic’s facilities in order to make its services
more accessible to the people residing in the towns
of Cayey and Cidra.
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