THE ROBERTO CLEMENTE CLINIC FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN

The Roberto Clemente Clinic for Women and Children is located in downtown Managua.

The clinic is named after Roberto Clemente, the professional baseball player who was native to Puerto Rico and played for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Upon acquiring fame and fortune, he became a philanthropist who made it a habit to support his brothers and sisters in Latin America. In 1972 an earthquake devastated Managua, the capitol city of Nicaragua. Clemente arranged for several shipments of food and supplies to make it down to the mangled city. After the first three shipments were intercepted by corrupt officials of the Samoza Government, Clemente decided to deliver the fourth shipment himself. Tragically, the fourth shipment too never made it to its destination. The plane crashed at sea. Clemente's body was never recovered.

Today the Nicaraguan government supplies the clinic with physicians, and the Sisters of Charity provide the administrative and supportive clinical staff. Dr. Pantoja is the medical director.

The physical plant is simple and austere. The waiting room is outdoors and consists of long, wooden benches. There are several exam rooms, several administrative offices, a medical laboratory, procedure room, a treatment area and an in-house pharmacy. The HVAC system consists of floor fans. The equipment is aged and partly functional. The microscope in the medical laboratory is 1950's vintage. For the treatment of asthma attacks, only one of the four banks of the multi-patient nebulizer works properly. The electrical work is so dated and rudimentary that several high voltage terminals are actually exposed.

For over a decade, parishioners of St. Francis De Sales Church in Salisbury, Maryland have been hand-delivering supplies and minor equipment. In 2008, La Merced assisted in this endeavor.

In 2009 La Merced set up a minor sugical procedure room and performed minor procedures on 46 patients. In addition, La Merced provided primary care services to 26 patients.

In June of 2010, La Merced will return to perform minor surgeries on up to 80 patients. In addition, La Merced will set up a dental clinic.