Free Clinic Opens Its Doors

El Centro de Salud, Cuerpo de Cristo: This beloved 9-room clinic sits in front of the main SOLT parish in our colonia (neighborhood). Owned by SOLT, the clinic operates on donations and is staffed by volunteers. It has been open on and off for the past 21 years, but had been closed since the beginning of the pandemic. Praise Jesus, the doors are now open wide to all! Currently, our staff includes Brenda, a psychologist, Kimberly, a young tutor that provides educational support for children, LuLu, an energetic nurse, and myself, a Registered Nurse. We offer low-cost or free healthcare for the community Monday-Saturday, and I act as an on-call/home health nurse as well. 

A song we hear often at Mass here says simply, “Entra, la puerta está abierta” (“Enter, the door is open”). These words characterize perfectly the Mexican culture, the hospitable and beautifully generous souls of our colonia, and the mission of the clinic. The clinic’s purpose is for all to feel safe and experience encounter with Jesus behind its doors, as we seek Him in each person. This provides the opportunity for a very wide variety of patients to be seen and conditions cared for, from wrapping up fractures or suturing up a deep head laceration, to chronic disease management or medication injections. This special little clinic has witnessed a slew of human life events and emotions, both the sufferings and joys that accompany life in Nuevo Laredo; both the tears of loss, and the celebration of new life. To Jesus be all honor and glory! 

Jocelyne Kleinsmith is a SOLT Missionary Volunteer currently serving as a medical missionary in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. She is a graduate of Benedictine College in Kansas.