New funding from the Baxter International Foundation enables expanded mobile clinic outreach

The Baxter International Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Baxter International Inc., has awarded Medicines for Humanity a new grant to continue its support of critically-needed, life-saving health services in the Dominican Republic. This grant will continue to support healthcare accessibility through mobile clinic outreach to underserved residents of batey communities in the Quisqueya area, outside of San Pedro de Macoris, east of Santo Domingo. Bateyes are informal villages developed around basic dormitory housing for sugar cane workers and their families.

“The new funding from Baxter will allow the mobile clinic to continue providing life-saving medical care in rural communities of the DR and expand community health services. We will be able to expand our reach by providing nutrition and sanitation services that will help families to prevent illness and improve overall health,” said Kristen Fanfant, MFH Program Manager. “Child mortality rates (CMRs) in the bateyes are nearly double the country’s national average. Thanks to the continuing support from the Baxter International Foundation and the ongoing work of our partners, we’re able to continue to provide access to health-care services for children and their families within these underserved communities.”

In partnership with the non-profit Daughters of Charity, a community of Catholic sisters serving the Quisqueya area, MFH provides community health services to low-resourced populations. The Quisqueya Mobile Clinic consists of a physician, nurse, pharmacy technician and driver who travel to the bateyes daily to provide clinical consultations and medications on site. Last year, clinic staff provided a total of 4,465 medical consultations for children and their mothers and fathers in the bateyes.

The mobile health clinic provides prenatal and postnatal consultations, clinical consultations for children and adults, home visits and health education outreach by community health workers (CHWs). Together, these interventions have been proven to help reduce childhood deaths from preventable causes.

As a global medical products company with operations around the world, Baxter’s facility in the DR employs hundreds of individuals within the region.

“Access to quality healthcare is a real issue in underserved communities around the world, and we’re proud to partner with MFH for a second year to help bring care to those who need it most in the Dominican Republic,” said Verónica Arroyave, executive director of the Baxter International Foundation.