March 24, 2003

Texas Baptists help restore Guadalajara hospital to health
___By John Hall
___Texas Baptist Communications
___A Guadalajara hospital has returned to prominence with the help of some generous Texas Baptists.
___The Mexico American Hospital was founded as one of the pre-eminent hospitals in western Mexico with the help of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1958. Later it was transferred to the National Baptist Convention of Mexico.
___By the time Omar Nicolas became the general director of the hospital in 1994, much of the equipment was outdated or broken. Inadequate equipment prevented the hospital from serving as many patients as it could. The hospital was not generating enough income to sustain its facilities.
___Despite its economic woes, the hospital continued its missio

THE MEXICO AMERICAN HOSPITAL was founded as one of the pre-eminent hospitals in western Mexico with the help of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1958. With help from Texas Baptists, the aging facility has received significant upgrades in equipment.

n to extend God's kingdom through medical service. The hospital staff provides free care to Mexican Baptist pastors, many of whom do not have medical insurance. The hospital also has established a clinic to provide free medical care in an impoverished area.
___The hospital gives monthly offerings to the National Baptist Convention of Mexico.
___The hospital helped start about half the Baptist churches in Guadalajara and works with most of them. Staff have ministered in all but two of the Mexican states. The chaplaincy department of the hospital reported 40 faith professions in Christ last year.
___Medical service can be a powerful outreach method, said Lee Baggett, a veteran of Mexico medical ministries and president of Manos Hermanos, a humanitarian aid organization based in Guadalajara.
___"You're helping people where they really hurt," he said. "You work with them in their problems. They see you care for them. When you tell them 'Jesus cares for you,' it means something."
___Sensing the hospital's commitment to the gospel despite decreased funds, a Texas Baptist family and two Texas Baptist hospitals came to the rescue of the diminishing ministry.
___Baylor Health Care System in Dallas has provided medical conferences in Guadalajara and has taken in Mexican medical residents for specialized training. Baylor leadership is helping the Guadalajara hospital with its long-range planning and research to ensure the hospital continues to buy the best equipment possible with the money it has.
___"Baylor University Medical Center has enjoyed a long relationship with the Hospital Mexico Americano Guadalaraja," said Margaret Ball, director of international services at Baylor. "The mission and values of Baylor are reflected in the work of the hospital."
___Hendrick Health System donated about 60 hospital beds and equipment to the hospital. The Abilene health system also trains two nurses each year for the Guadalajara hospital and will be taking 13 anesthesia machines to Mexico.
___"We want the Christian mission to be associated with the best health care," said Rick DeFoore, executive vice president of Hendrick Health System.
___A Texas Baptist couple, who wish to remain anonymous, donated $450,000 to the hospital and pledged to give $150,000 more.
___Mexico American Hospital leadership has used the money to help pay for a cardiac catheterization lab, valued at $900,000, and to build an intensive care unit, valued at $1 million.
___Hospital officials plan on using the pledged money as a down payment on an MRI machine and to expand and remodel the surgery unit.
___Some additional funds will be used to build a church in Zapotlanejo, near Guadalajara.
___Nicholas believes the improvements have returned the hospital to prominence and will increase the income and number of patients in the hospital.
___"Texas Baptists have been a great blessing in helping us attain financial stability and improved services for our Baptist hospital here in Mexico," he said.
___The hospital now can focus on meeting the needs of people across Mexico. Officials have started a rotating chaplaincy-training program that will be training chaplains in Chiapas, near the Guatemalan border, for the next three years.
___For more information on how to be involved in Mexico ministries, contact the Texas Partnerships Resource Center at (214) 828-5182.
___

The Baptist Standard



News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.

---

Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!/ Signup for FirstLook