Operation Smile in Dominican Republic has delivered high-quality surgeries and dental treatments for 5,000 patients with cleft conditions, helping them to better breathe, eat, speak and enjoy lives of greater quality and confidence.
THE NEED
One in 1,090 children are born with a cleft condition. According to Operation Smile’s estimates, one in every 1,090 children is born with a cleft condition in Dominican Republic.
Unequal access to care. Urban centres such as Santo Domingo have many large and well-equipped hospitals, while people living in rural areas suffer from limited access to quality health care. As a result, 47% of patients who arrive at Operation Smile programs do not have a hospital within two hours of their home.
Being an island country, the Dominican Republic experiences the detrimental effects of climate change, including rising temperatures, drought and high rates of mosquito-carried diseases, which disproportionately affect people living in poverty and create additional barriers to health care for children living with cleft conditions. Operation Smile’s survey revealed that 86% of patients arriving at Operation Smile programs in the Dominican Republic could not have undergone surgery without the support of Operation Smile.
Financial burden. Out-of-pocket expenses often prevent people from accessing the care that they need, which puts children living with cleft conditions at an even greater risk. 6% of the population faces impoverishing expenditure for surgical care, while 14% faces catastrophic expenditure in case of surgery.
Barriers to education and employment. In the Dominican Republic, 35% of patients who arrive at Operation Smile programs reported that their condition affected their school attendance, and 46% of caregivers stay home to care for their children.
OUR FORMULA FOR TRANSFORMATION
Operation Smile’s formula for transformational impact combines surgical and non-surgical care delivery and capacity-building.
Education and training programs are at the center of Operation Smile’s strategy to increase access to surgery closer to the patient’s home.
Each surgical program brings together providers from all over the world for a unique opportunity to share knowledge and innovate. This type of bi-directional learning is essential to redistributing knowledge between providers and building capacity in the areas of greatest need.
Our work in health infrastructure addresses structural barriers to care and helps build robust health systems. Operation Smile’s research & innovation efforts inform all aspects of our decision-making and allow us to have a comprehensive understanding of the impact our programs have on patients.
HUBS & SPOKES
To ensure that every child has access to care closer to home, we equip the providers within our patients’ communities with skills and resources to deliver high-quality care.
In the Dominican Republic, our hub in Hospital Militar Dr. Ramón de Lara in Santo Domingo provides year-round surgical care for patients with cleft conditions.
We deliver non-surgical care at our Operation Smile Care Centre in Santo Domingo and at our hospital partners Sarah Lora’s Clinic in Santiago and Giancarlo Brache Clinic in Santo Domingo.
During Fiscal Year July 2024-June 2025, Operation Smile Canada has committed to invest $256,913 CAD, accounting for 82% of the Dominican Republic’s total projected budget for the fiscal year, which will directly contribute to providing high-quality surgery and care for 175 patients and deliver training to 160 health workers.
Cleft Care Programs
Over the course of the following year, Operation Smile in Dominican Republic will provide surgical care for 175 patients, targeting Bogota, La Guajira and other regions across Colombia. We will expand comprehensive cleft care services by providing consultations in oral health (~1,100 patients), nutrition (480 patients), psychosocial care (~4,170 patients) and speech therapy (~3,600 patients).
Education
Over the course of the following year, Operation Smile plans to provide education and training for 285 medical providers. At least six hospitals will receive training to strengthen the local healthcare workforce, including comprehensive cleft care training for primary care providers. We will deliver hands-on training to plastic surgeons and provide American Heart Association (AHA) training courses for anesthesiologists, pediatricians, nurses and oral health specialists. In addition, anesthesiologists will receive Safe Surgery training in comprehensive care delivery. We will work to strengthen our network of more than 250 volunteers. Working in collaboration with our university partners, we will increase capacity for internships and exchanges.
FIVE-YEAR VISION
Over the next five years, Operation Smile Colombia will provide surgeries for an estimated 3,420 patients. To address the unequal access to cleft surgery and care, Operation Smile will expand its education programs and provide hands-on specialty-specific training opportunities for health professionals at our hospital partners.
