HealthProMed Takes Over Culebra's CDT on Tuesday: Here's What Changes for Patients

The Puerto Rico Department of Health signed a collaboration agreement on Thursday night, August 27, with HPM Foundation, Inc., the community-based nonprofit that operates HealthProMed, to take over primary and preventive health services at Culebra's Diagnostic and Treatment Center (CDT) ¹². Health Secretary Víctor Ramos Otero made the announcement on Friday and set the handover dates: Sistema de Salud Menonita ends its administrative functions and medical office operations on Monday, August 31, and HealthProMed steps in on Tuesday, September 1 ².

The move responds to Menonita's cessation of operations at the CDT, effective August 31, which for weeks left residents of the island municipality wondering whether they would be left without local primary care ¹. Salud clarified that the emergency room was never at risk, because that area is run directly by the Department ².

HealthProMed is not a new face for Culebra residents. The organization has spent more than 20 years on the island with its Section 330 Primary Health Center on Pedro Márquez Street, and runs similar centers in San Juan, Carolina, Guaynabo-Cataño and Vieques ¹⁴. Ramos noted that, as a nonprofit, its board is made up of community leaders, and credited executive director Ivonne Rivera Hernández for her willingness to keep operations in the CDT's current facility while the final legal and operational steps are completed, "ensuring an orderly transition without interruptions" ¹².

The numbers

• Initial term of the agreement: through November 30, 2026 ¹².
• Handover: Menonita leaves Monday, August 31; HealthProMed starts Tuesday, September 1 ².
• Contracted services: general medicine, pediatrics, gynecology, psychology, health education, nutrition, oral health for adults and children, optometry, and telemedicine with psychiatry and internal medicine ¹².
• Pharmacy under the federal 340B program and sliding-fee discounts of up to 90% on all services for people without health coverage who do not qualify for Plan Vital ¹².
• Clinical laboratory and vaccination program for children and adults, in line with the HRSA Bureau of Primary Health Care project ¹.
• Public cost: the agreement involves no disbursement of public funds at this stage, according to Salud ¹.
• Current hours at HealthProMed's Culebra center: Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ⁴.

Not everyone in Culebra is celebrating. Fundación de Culebra, Mujeres de Islas and Foundation for a Better Puerto Rico — organizations tasked by a residents' assembly with handling the CDT controversy — called the signing an "antidemocratic and irregular decision" and "an abuse against the people" of the island ¹³. Luz Rivera Cantwell, president of Fundación de Culebra, charged that the secretary signed "without any transparency, without handing over documents or information," and lamented the loss of "the best medical service Culebra has had in its history" ³. Dennis Rivera, president of Foundation for a Better Puerto Rico, questioned why Menonita was not retained if the secretary himself had said he was willing to sign for the same $30,000 a month, and called a contract of barely three months "highly irregular" ¹.

What it means for you

If you get your care at the Culebra CDT, medical office services should not be interrupted: the new operator will work out of the same facility with a service menu that, on paper, is broader, including optometry, oral health and psychiatric telemedicine ¹². If you have no health plan and do not qualify for Plan Vital, the federal sliding-fee program can cut your bill by up to 90% ¹². The emergency room stays the same, run by the Department of Health ². What deserves close attention is the administrative transition: records, appointments and prescriptions will change hands within days.

How to do it / Checklist

1. If you had a CDT appointment after August 31, call HealthProMed at (787) 268-4171 to confirm or reschedule it ⁴.
2. Request a copy of your medical record and your list of prescribed medications this week, so the transition does not leave you without your history on hand.
3. If you are uninsured, apply for the sliding-fee discount program when you register; bring ID and proof of income ¹².
4. Make sure your medication refills remain active at the pharmacy, which will operate under the federal 340B program ¹.
5. For children's or adults' vaccines, confirm availability: the vaccination program will continue at the center under HRSA guidelines ¹.
6. In an emergency, go to the CDT emergency room, still run by the Department of Health, or call 911 ².

What's next

The agreement expires November 30, so over the next three months Salud will have to define the CDT's long-term operator ¹. The House of Representatives, through Speaker Carlos "Johnny" Méndez, announced an investigation into how the situation was handled, and community organizations have already said they will coordinate efforts so Culebra's voice weighs on the final decision ¹³. Meanwhile, HealthProMed must complete the legal and licensing steps to take over the clinical laboratory and the vaccination program ¹.

Sources

1. El Nuevo Día — "Departamento de Salud formaliza acuerdo con HealthProMed para servicios en el CDT de Culebra" (August 28, 2026)
2. Primera Hora — "Salud anuncia quién se hará cargo del CDT de Culebra" (August 28, 2026)
3. Primera Hora — "Culebrenses critican a Salud por atropellado cambio en CDT" (August 28, 2026)
4. HealthProMed — "Horarios y Servicios Culebra" (healthpromed.org)