This trip will provide medical care to Haitian sugar cane workers and prisoners in the Dominican Republic. This will occur in the environs of La Romana in the southeast Dominican Republic. This is an ongoing venture initiated by Dr. Robert Chagrasulis a retired general surgeon over twenty years ago. Bob speaks Spanish and Haitian Creole and the beauty of this is the ongoing nature of connections, contacts and local knowledge that provides a very efficient and impactful experience.
The primary benefit will be the sugar cane workers and families who dwell in the sugar came plantations of Southeast Dominican Republic. We hold clinics in the small villages known as batteys that dot the thousands of square miles of sugar cane fields of the Dominican Republic. Will also visit prisons in the area that house many Haitian and Dominican priosoners. The secondary benefit will be the education of medical students and residents of the University of South Alabama College of medicine Health System who will join us as part of their global health elective.
The expected impact will favorably influence the general medical care of these migrant populations. Many patients we know from prior visits and we are part of the patch work of medical care this underserved community receives. In addition this will impact the medical education of students and residents from the University of South Alabama medical school and residency training system.
Cross Cultural Medicine Hispaniola cared for Haitian sugar cane workers and their families in the sugar cane fields of the southwestern Dominican Republic in November 2025. We provided general medical care for acute conditions such as infection and chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes. We bought our own medication and dispensed from our own pharmacy. We also set up clinics in multiple prisons and jails where otherwise there is little available medical care. A physician from Haiti joined us and he provided a valuable bridge to understanding medical care on the island of Hispaniola which comprises the two countries of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. We employed translators to aid in the physician patient interaction. We are part of an ongoing medical enterprise with continuity over 20 years that incorporates medical education for medical students and Residents from the University of South Alabama College of Medicine.
