Fire Destroyed an Island Hospital. Months Later, a Honduran Free Clinic Is Still Bridging the Gap.

It was 1:30 in the morning, but staff from Clinica Esperanza were already at work, packing up their medical supplies.

The evening before, on April 19, fire had destroyed the only public hospital on the island of Roatán, Honduras, reducing its predominantly wooden structure to ash and debris.

The cause of the blaze is still unknown, but its consequences were devastating. According to the International Federation of the Red Cross, over 55,000 people relied on the public hospital for care.

The early-morning preparations at Clinica Esperanza, a local free clinic, were part of an immediate, community-wide response. Patients and hospital staff were being routed to local medical practices to receive emergency care, and staff said they couldn't imagine having to turn anyone away.

"I cannot handle the idea that people can die because they don't have any other option," said Kallie Vallecillo, CEO of Clinica Esperanza, which has operated in the community for 22 years.

Before the fire, the clinic saw about 150 patients a day. In the month following the fire, that number more than quadrupled, to about 650. While things have quieted since the initial, urgent surge of need, staff are still caring for about 50 additional patients each day, as residents who once relied on the hospital look for alternative care. Two other hospitals are still open in Roatán, but they are private entities, and many local patients can't afford the costs.

Clinica Esperanza, which relies on medical students and volunteers to operate, has extended its daily hours to meet the increased need.

Building a new hospital structure is expected to take 18 months, Vallecillo told Direct Relief. That's devastating news for patients with chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension, many of whom received daily medications at the hospital pharmacy. Medical staff around the island have fewer supplies for procedures and surgeries.

"We are a nonprofit and we do have limitations, but we know that there's so many people that love the island of Roatán and they love the people. They've been so supportive to our initiatives that we are just taking it day by day," Vallecillo said.

While the last few months have required more money, time and supplies, staff at Clinica Esperanza say they are willing to do whatever they can to help anyone who needs care. It's costly, but they continue to share medications and supplies with partners across the island, and to treat as many people as they can.

"I think it would just be inhumane," Vallecillo said about turning patients away or saying no to partners who need supplies.

Vallecillo, whose background is in nursing administration, became the clinic's CEO just two years ago. She'd been the leader of a Honduran nonprofit that sourced medical supplies for the community. Through her work, she'd developed a relationship with Peggy Stranges, who founded Clinica Esperanza more than two decades ago.

"Ms. Peggy has always been someone who is just a giver," Vallecillo said. "We serve one mission and that's to love people. And we love people to the best of our ability."

Clinica Esperanza, whose name in English translates to the Hope Clinic, was founded on faith.

An American expat and nurse, Stranges moved to Honduras after working at Ohio State University. In her two decades in Roatán, Stranges has become known locally as the person to go to for medical help, a role she describes as "an honor and an onus."

Arriving in Honduras, Stranges said she wanted to do "God's work," but wasn't sure what that meant at the time. She did missionary work on the mainland before settling in Roatán. When people heard she'd been trained as a nurse, they encouraged neighbors and friends to visit her for assistance.

At first, she saw about 10 patients a day, most of them women and children who needed basic care. As her reputation grew, so did the requests - and the high cost of medical supplies.

"I was praying to God on the way over" to church, Stranges recalled. She remembered saying, "'If you want me to do this, you better open the floodgates, you know, show me how am I going to do this.'"

Soon after, she was approached by a group of doctors on a medical mission, offering their extra supplies. Other health care workers began donating their time. Outside funding helped Stranges move the clinic from her kitchen table, first to a small apartment under her home, then to an old hotel down the road.

Today, Clinica Esperanza boasts two dozen staff and a host of dedicated volunteers. Plans for the coming year include an expanded birth center with four beds instead of two, and an in-school program to provide dental care to local children.

The financial strain that followed the hospital fire is taking its toll six months later. It's unclear what funding will be available for future programs. But Vallecillo and Stranges say Clinica Esperanza is committed to doing whatever it can to help people, no matter the cost to the clinic.

"Things that are not in my control, I don't worry about," Stranges said. "God is going to provide and he has all along."

Direct Relief has provided Clinica Esperanza with over $600,000 in requested medications and medical supplies this year.

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