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Residents of the Bayaguana area in the Dominican Republic sit inside the medical clinic built in Bayaguana by Community of Hope International.

Courtesy Community of Hope International

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Dr. Tom Dickinson, founder of the Community of Hope International foundation, is shown inside the foundation's clinic in Bayaguana, Dominican Republic.

Courtesy Community of Hope International

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This medical clinic in Bayaguana, Dominican Republic, was built by Community of Hope International.

Courtesy Community of Hope International

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For Dr. Tom Dickinson, former president and chair of the board at Revere Health, the Dominican Republic had become his refuge away from home.

Some years ago during a Costco run, Dickinson and his wife, Bonnie, chatted with a good friend who had a foundation in the Dominican Republic. He was leaving in two weeks to go there and needed some medical people. Bonnie, the consummate humanitarian, said she would go. After resisting perhaps more than he should have, he relented and went with her.

On the last day of the seven-day trip, a community member told Dickinson that her mother was dying from breast cancer and asked him to make a house call. They walked through town then ducked into a one-room shack, and there lay the mother.

“There really was nothing I could do. I just visited with her, which meant so much for the family,” Dickinson said. “I came away from that experience thinking that these people were happier than we were, and they had nothing. They had sense of community and needed each other to survive. This initial experience in the (Dominican Republic) very much changed my life, and I felt we should try to do something of more enduring impact, so we came home and started the Community of Hope International foundation.”

In November 2014, the foundation broke ground in the village of Bayaguana for the construction of a permanent facility to provide year-round service to those in desperate need.The Community of Hope Clinic was dedicated in November 2016. It is an impressive 7,000-square-foot medical building with an adjacent 2,000-square-foot building.

The clinic provides medical and dental care and has a supporting laboratory and pharmacy. Fully licensed, the facility touts four state-of-the-art, fully equipped dental rooms with digital imaging; family medicine, pediatric, nutrition, optometry and OB/GYN exam rooms; and an urgent care/emergency room.

José Manual Ubiera, president of Community of Hope International, grew up in Bayaguana, helping his grandfather and riding horses. He came to the U.S. and worked in car sales for many years. When his father passed away in 2022, he and his wife returned to Bayaguana for the funeral. “On the way back to the airport, my wife called and said, ‘It’s time for us to say here,'” Ubiera said.

“José has been key in the formation of the foundation in Bayaguana,” Dickinson said. “His family owns a farm on the outskirts of Bayaguana. The medical facility is now located on a piece of his family’s property where he spent much of his childhood.”

The clinic employs two family doctors, a clinic administrator, a nutritionist, an OB/GYN doctor, a pediatrician, an optometrist and three dentists. Many of the staff are part time. The clinic also has security, dental assistants and a secretary, for a total of about 17 employees.

The clinic’s administrator is Dr. Patricia Pérez, who practically grew up with the Ubiera family before she attended medical school. “In 2014 while I was a medical student, I was invited to help with a medial mission in Bayaguana,” Pérez said. “That is where I met Dr. Dickinson, and I liked what this organization brought to Bayaguana. For me, the goal is always about returning smiles and health to the Bayaguana community.”

The people of Bayaguana love having the clinic in their community. One day while Dickinson was at the clinic, the mayor of Bayaguana came for a tour wearing a very traditional embroidered Dominican shirt. The mayor proclaimed, “We need a fire engine.” Dickinson told the mayor that if he could get him a shirt like that, he would get a fire truck for the city. That same day, the mayor’s wife went to Santo Domingo and bought a shirt for Dickinson.

“Once I had the shirt, we jumped on a civil service website, found a small pumper truck in Michigan and bought it,” Dickinson said. “Once it arrived, we drove it to the city and presented it to the city. Unfortunately, the mayor died before the fire truck arrived. After the presentation, the fire chief said, ‘We could really use an ambulance.'”

Although the clinic is located in a region of extreme poverty and high unemployment, it charges a small fee for those who come or whose insurance does not cover the costs. “Most of our care is charitable in nature,” Pérez said. “We do charge a $2 to $5 ‘integrity fee’ and a small surcharge for dental procedures for those who can afford to pay.”

Sponsorship and partnerships are important for survival. Better Body Foods is the corporate sponsor for the project and provides generous support, with its employees participating in humanitarian trips to the Dominican Republic. Other funding comes from a few major donors, including Today’s the Day Foundation, a local Catholic Charities foundation, and Global Dental Partners.

The foundation partners with Today’s the Day Foundation to build tiny homes and provides volunteer, medical and financial support to an orphanage of 75 girls in Santo Domingo. They also partner with Global Dental, which brings four to six American dentists to the country several times a year to teach the local dentists and provide sophisticated dental care to the local population.

The foundation also organizes seven-day medical trips for about 15 to 20 people who provide health services to residents of Bayaguana and surrounding communities, including children from a nearby orphanage.

“When the local population finds out that an American physician is coming, they come in droves,” Dickinson said. “During these visits, the medical volunteers see patients, provide needed supplies and new equipment to the clinic, and provide support and training to the staff. Simultaneously, we meet with local and national government and public health officials and perform building maintenance and repairs.”

With challenges come the greatest rewards. “We are reminded that no matter where we live or what we have that we are all brothers and sisters on this earth and part of the human community,” Dickinson said. “We need to look after each other, share our talents and abilities, and remain connected to one another. Being acquainted with human suffering connects people with shared human suffering.”

Community of Hope International understands that doing charitable work requires love, patience, perseverance, adaptability and financial support. “Much of what we want to achieve is beyond our control. We confront many uncertainties,” Dickinson said. “Fortunately, we are associated with many people who are committed to making it work, and, because of this, our future is very hopeful.”

For Community of Hope International, it is not about how many people it can see. It is all about the individual and how they can help them. For example, a frail 10-year-old girl once came into the clinic. She really couldn’t see. They just happened to have pair of cute pink eyeglasses that fit perfectly and helped her to see.

Before Talon Hatch became a Community of Hope International board member, his aunt, who was a board member, convinced him to go on one of the medical trips as a translator. That was eight years ago. “Now, I come away from these trips feeling I was the one impacted the most,” Hatch said. “I always leave feeling more blessed than when I arrived.”

“It is the small single victories,” Dickinson said. “It is about helping people who need it and bringing what we can to the table, helping the volunteers who come to serve, creating human connection and providing quality, free and affordable care to those in dire need of such help, and understanding the purpose and meaning this project has given us in our lives.”

If people want to connect with the Community of Hope International, they can go to communityofhopeint.org or send an email to tdickinson128@gmail.com or joseubiera28@yahoo.com.

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