Fourth annual health fair brings free specialists and medical equipment to Vieques, still without a hospital

For the fourth year in a row, a coalition of health organizations led by Direct Relief brought specialists, medical equipment and free services to Vieques this Friday, August 14, and Saturday, August 15, in an effort to fill the healthcare gap left by the closure of the island municipality's only hospital nearly nine years ago ¹². The fair gathered ophthalmologists, ear-nose-and-throat specialists, urologists, pediatricians and other specialists who are normally unavailable in Vieques, where thousands of residents depend on the ferry to reach "the big island" whenever they need care that goes beyond the basics ¹³.

The initiative combined two days of work. On Friday, medical staff from La Fondita de Jesús, alongside physician and singer-songwriter Dr. Pedro Juan Vázquez -known as PJ Sin Suela- made house calls to bedridden patients who cannot travel to a service center ¹². On Saturday, the main fair was set up, with clinics covering ophthalmology, otolaryngology, menstrual health, pediatrics, dentistry, family medicine, mental health, urology, surgery, internal medicine, optometry, HIV testing, nursing services and social work, all free for participants ¹²³.

Direct Relief, HealthproMed, La Fondita de Jesús, Vieques en Rescate and the Ponce Medical School Foundation (PMSF) were the organizations behind the event, which also distributed medical equipment valued at close to $9,000, including shower chairs, glucometers, canes, walkers, blood pressure monitors, food boxes, solar lights and hygiene kits for families previously identified in the community ¹².

"Our mission at Direct Relief is to make sure geographic location never becomes an obstacle to timely, quality medical care," said Ivonne Rodríguez-Wiewall, Direct Relief's executive advisor in Puerto Rico ¹².

The backdrop behind the fair is a hard one. Vieques lost its only hospital, Susana Centeno, after Hurricane María in 2017, and since then the island municipality has relied solely on a Diagnostic and Treatment Center (CDT) that does not offer a delivery room, dialysis or X-ray capacity anywhere near what the original hospital had ³. That has forced cancer, dialysis and maternity patients to cross by ferry or small plane to Ceiba or Fajardo for treatment, a trip that can eat up an entire day and complicates routine medical follow-ups ³.

There is, however, a project underway that promises to change that picture. The new Vieques Health Center, with a construction cost of $75 million -including $48 million allocated by FEMA directly to the municipality-, already handed the dialysis, trauma and obstetrics units over to the Department of Health in December 2025, and dialysis service began operating in mid-October of that year ⁴. Still pending are the emergency room and the chemotherapy and specialty units, which depend on the Department of Health preparing the spaces handed over by the developer before opening them to the public ⁴.

What This Means for You

If you live in Vieques or have family there, fairs like this one represent, for now, one of the few windows each year to access specialists without having to cross by ferry or pay for a small plane. Until the new Health Center completes its emergency and specialty phases, the medical access gap on the island municipality will keep depending largely on philanthropic initiatives like this one, rather than on a permanent, full-time health system. For the families who received free medical equipment -shower chairs, walkers, blood pressure monitors- this fair also represents a direct savings on costs they would otherwise have to cover out of pocket or wait months to get through their health plan.

How to Do It / Checklist

1. If you are a Vieques resident with chronic conditions (diabetes, hypertension, vision or hearing problems), mark down the next editions of the Health Fair and arrive early, since specialist slots tend to fill up fast.
2. If you have a bedridden or limited-mobility family member, contact La Fondita de Jesús or Vieques en Rescate ahead of time to coordinate a home visit at the next edition.
3. Keep the phone numbers for HealthproMed and the Susana Centeno CDT handy for primary care the rest of the year, outside the fair dates.
4. If you need basic medical equipment (walker, shower chair, blood pressure monitor) and cannot afford it, ask at the fair or reach out directly to Direct Relief about equipment donation programs for Vieques.
5. Follow the Department of Health's announcements about the opening of the emergency room and chemotherapy units at the new Vieques Health Center, which will determine when the island municipality stops relying so heavily on the ferry for specialized care.

What's Next

Direct Relief and its partners have already signaled plans for a fifth edition of the fair next year, but the underlying question is whether the new Vieques Health Center -with its $75 million investment- will be fully operational by then. The Department of Health has not confirmed an exact opening date for the emergency room or the chemotherapy units, the two pieces that would most impact patients who today depend on the ferry for routine treatment. Until that happens, specialized healthcare in Vieques will keep arriving, largely, two days a year, in tents and makeshift exam rooms.