Serving the people of Chiapas since 1969

Hospital San Carlos is situated at the entrance of the jungles of Chiapas, in the town of Altamirano. This nonprofit hospital primarily serves the low-income indigenous population in the region.

The hospital was founded in 1969 by the Dominican Mission to the Bishop of San Cristobal de Las Casas, Don Samuel Ruiz Garcia, at a time when health care in the region was absent. In 1976, the management of the hospital was transferred to St. Vincent de Paul's Daughters of Charity, who continue to manage the hospital today.
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Seeking volunteers

Hospital San Carlos is an official site for international medicine rotations from several US-based residency programs, including the Departments of Emergency Medicine of the University of California, San Francisco and Highland Hospital in Oakland, California.

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Please consider a donation

Hospital San Carlos is a non-profit hospital and is sustained mainly by charitable donations. A third of our revenue is from patient fees and the other two thirds comes from donated funds. 
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From our history...

More information about Hospital San Carlos

In Chiapas, about a quarter of the population is of indigenous origin. Most live according to their century-old customs, which include a closeness to nature and self-subsistence via farming (mainly corn and beans). Unfortunately, the socioeconomic status of this population is very poor.

Eighty-nine percent of the patient population served by Hospital San Carlos is indigenous; Tzeltal is the primary indigenous community, followed by Tojolabal, and lastly by Cho'ol and Tsotzil. 

San Carlos Hospital provides health care in a humanistic fashion, without discrimination, and with respect for and understanding of the diverse cultures in the region. The hospital struggles to provide quality service at a cost affordable to patients and often accepts barter as a form of payment. 

The open architecture of the hospital, almost contiguous with its surrounding gardens, creates a familiar environment for patients and workers who are used to living surrounded by nature.
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