Modern Diabetes, Obesity and Specialties Medical Centre (CEMDOE) opens

• The Diabetes, Obesity and Specialties Medical Centre, built to the highest international standards, has highly qualified staff and state-of-the-art technology, focused on improving the quality of life of people affected by diabetes and other chronic diseases.

Santo Domingo, 27 April 2021.- The President of the Republic, Luis Abinader, led the opening and ribbon-cutting of the Diabetes, Obesity and Specialties Medical Centre (CEMDOE), which follows a comprehensive care model focused on the safety, quality and experience of patients and their families.

CEMDOE, located in San Gerónimo, has been created as a fully digitalised centre working to protocols, both innovative aspects in the health sector, supported by international processes, standards and policies that position it as a world-class centre, strengthening the opportunity to export services through health tourism.

Mariela Vicini, the centre’s founder, said in her opening remarks that her greatest motivation has been to contribute to the wellbeing and health of patients suffering serious diabetic foot complications caused by this devastating disease. “Just over 10 years ago I joined forces with Dr. Pedro Mena to create a social support plan through a foundation.”

“This deeply human and meaningful experience made us aware of the great need for a space with a wider reach that could be self-sustaining, so we could impact more people. That is how the idea of founding a specialised health centre focused on patients and their families, oriented towards the prevention and treatment of diabetic patients, came about,” said Vicini.

For his part, CEMDOE’s executive director, Dr. Gastón Gabin, explained that “the centre’s management rests on excellence, medical protocols and patient-centred processes, as it will provide comprehensive, collaborative care to significantly improve patients’ quality of life”.

He also highlighted: “We are proud to offer our specialties to the general public and to have built a centre following the demanding international standards of Joint Commission International (JCI),” said Gabin.

“Our quality levels will help us collaborate and keep strengthening the export of services through health tourism, an important market niche that generates technology and knowledge transfer and promotes job creation,” added Gabin.

The centre has a built area of more than 20,000 square metres, currently housing 42 consulting rooms with 24 specialties. It also has recreation areas and more than 250 parking spaces, and employs more than 400 professionals.

Its medical specialties include the Diabetic Foot Unit and the Haemodialysis and Nephrology Unit. The first, led by Dr. Pedro Mena, is one of the most innovative diabetic foot units in the country, with the vision of reducing amputations in patients to zero; the second, focused on the promotion, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of kidney disease, is headed by a multidisciplinary medical team.

The health facility belongs to the INTEGRA health ecosystem, a group of companies that have come together to help transform the health system sustainably, placing patient wellbeing at the centre of every decision.

CEMDOE is committed to sustainable design that makes use of natural light, cutting emissions by 70 per cent through a 144 kW photovoltaic array installed on the roof.

The head table was led by His Excellency the President of the Republic, Luis Abinader, together with Mariela Vicini, José Leopoldo Vicini, Armando Pérez and Dr. Gastón Gabin. Also at the table were the Minister of Public Health, Dr. Daniel Rivera; the Minister of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs, Víctor Bisonó; and the director of the Superintendency of Health and Occupational Risks, Jesús Feris Iglesias.

The facilities were blessed by Father Tomás García of Fundación La Merced.

A small group of public and private sector representatives and figures from the sector were invited to the event, in line with the safety measures established by the health authorities.

At the end of the ceremony, the President of the Republic, authorities and senior executives of the Diabetes, Obesity and Specialties Medical Centre toured the facilities.