Culebra: Health Department denies Menonita debts, will name new CDT operator September 1

Health Secretary Víctor Ramos on Tuesday, August 25, denied that the Department of Health owes money to Sistema de Salud Menonita for the services that network provides at Culebra's Diagnostic and Treatment Center (CDT), and announced that the facility's new operator will be unveiled on September 1 — a pivotal date for the island municipality's only hospital facility ¹. "What is happening there is not about late payments to Menonita... they wanted to nearly double what they were being paid," Ramos said, adding that the transition will bring expanded services, including specialists that until now were not available to Culebra residents ¹.

The announcement aims to calm weeks of uncertainty in Culebra, where Menonita's contract ends August 31 and the facility's employees — most of them residents of the municipality itself — had already received termination letters effective September 1 ¹²³. "We will be there on September 1, inaugurating the new services," the secretary promised ¹.

Menonita ran the CDT's laboratory and pharmacy services for roughly seven years, while the emergency room has always remained under the direct control of the Department of Health ¹². The agreement originally expired in June 2026 and was extended so the network could keep operating through the end of August ². When Health decided not to renew it, the community was left without a clear explanation of why, according to Dennis Rivera, director of the Foundation for a Better Puerto Rico and a Culebra resident for 25 years ³. Rivera noted that Menonita had expressed its willingness to keep operating "under the same economic conditions," and that the foundation invested roughly $3 million in rebuilding the clinic after Hurricanes Irma and María ³.

Culebra Mayor Edilberto Romero has insisted that services will not be affected during the changeover and pressed the central government for a multi-year agreement for the CDT, so that Culebrenses do not relive this same anxiety every time a contract expires ¹².

The key facts so far: Menonita's contract ends Sunday, August 31, 2026; the new operator will be announced Tuesday, September 1; the emergency room remains under the Health Department and is not closing; the laboratory and pharmacy are the services changing hands; and Ramos maintains the dispute was economic — Menonita sought nearly double the compensation — not about unpaid bills ¹²³.

What it means for you

If you live in Culebra or visit the island municipality, the essential point is that the CDT's emergency room, on William Font Street, is not closing: it operates under the Department of Health and will keep running through the transition ¹⁴. What changes hands is the laboratory and the pharmacy, and that is where temporary hiccups could appear in the first days of September — from prescriptions taking longer to fill to lab results you may need to request from the outgoing operator ¹².

For patients who currently travel to the main island to see specialists, the official promise is encouraging: Ramos says the new arrangement will include specialties never before offered in Culebra, though he did not say which ones ¹. And for the dozens of laid-off employees, the open question is whether the new operator will rehire them; the government has not guaranteed it ²³.

How to do it / Checklist

1. For emergencies, keep going to the Culebra CDT on William Font Street; you can call 787-742-0001 to confirm services ⁴.
2. Refill your prescriptions before Sunday, August 31, so you are not left without medications if the pharmacy sees interruptions during the operator change ¹².
3. Request copies of your lab results and medical records from Menonita now, before it hands over operations ²³.
4. If you depend on specialist appointments on the main island, do not cancel them yet: wait to learn which specialties the new operator will offer starting September 1 ¹.
5. Watch for the Health Department's official September 1 announcement (salud.pr.gov) and for notices from the Municipality of Culebra on schedules and services ¹.
6. If you travel to the main island for treatment, book the Ceiba–Culebra ferry or your flight in advance, in case the transition delays any local service ³.

What's next

September 1 is the decisive date: Health will announce the new operator and, according to Ramos, inaugurate the expanded services that same day ¹. It remains to be verified whether the promise of specialists materializes, whether the laid-off local employees are rehired, and whether the government heeds Mayor Romero's call for a multi-year contract to give stability to Culebra's only hospital ¹²³. CoquiList will be tracking the transition and the new administrator's first days of operation.

Sources

1. El Nuevo Día — Secretario de Salud descarta deudas con Menonita y anuncia más servicios para CDT en Culebra (August 25, 2026): https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/gobierno/notas/secretario-de-salud-descarta-deudas-con-menonita-y-anuncia-mas-servicios-para-cdt-en-culebra/
2. WAPA TV — Culebrenses viven incertidumbre tras vencer contrato de servicios de Menonita con CDT municipal (August 18, 2026): https://wapa.tv/noticias/locales/culebrenses-viven-incertidumbre-tras-vencer-contrato-de-servicios-de-menonita-con-cdt-municipal/article_c9603bb7-b026-4f79-845e-7ea2945ecc65.html
3. TeleOnce — En riesgo los servicios médicos en Culebra ante posible cierre del CDT (August 18, 2026): https://teleonce.com/noticias/locales/en-riesgo-los-servicios-medicos-en-culebra-ante-posible-cierre-del-cdt/
4. Sistema de Salud Menonita — Centro Menonita Culebra: https://www.sistemamenonita.com/centro-menonita-culebra