In 2008, the parish of San Francisco de Asís became the sister parish of the Basilica Shrine of St. Mary in Wilmington, North Carolina, when Fr. Carlos Rubio (pastor of the Honduras parish) and I (pastor of the American parish) established this bond. As a result of this agreement, the Basilica Shrine of St. Mary helped San Francisco de Asís establish Clínica Santa María in Reitoca in 2012 and establish a laboratory in September of 2016. In October of 2018, San Francisco de Asís parish dedicated a second healthcare facility, Farmacia San Francisco de Asís in Reitoca. Finally, in December of 2019, we dedicated a new pharmacy in the municipality of Curarén, Farmacia Candelaria.
Two non-profit organizations that grew from the Basilica Shrine of St. Mary help to support the healthcare projects. SaludHondu helps support Clínica Santa María and Farmacia San Francisco de Asís. However, both the clinic and pharmacy are on their way to becoming self-supporting, at least in terms of salaries.
A second non-profit, Red Lantern Foundation, gave money to start the Candelaria pharmacy. However, once the pharmacy opened, it was responsible for generating enough revenue to be self-supporting. I’m delighted say that that is exactly what happened!
Although some money does come from generous supporters in the United States, the healthcare projects of San Francisco de Asís parish are staffed and run 100% by Honduran professionals and assistants. Currently, the parish’s healthcare projects employ 11 Honduran staff: 2 physicians; 1 nurse; 1 microbiologist; 1 lab technician; 2 pharmacists; 2 pharmacy techs; 1 bookkeeper; and 1 jack-of-all-trades.
We dream of one day having a small hospital in Reitoca, because it takes 2-1/2 hours, one-way, to get to the nearest hospital in Tegucigalpa.
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