The Society Mobile-La Habana is the local citizen’s group that supports the sister city relationship between Mobile and Havana, Cuba. You may have read some of the press coverage about the visitors we have hosted this year, including three physicians, who met with many of their local counterparts.

These visits have been a precursor to the next phase of our on-going Medical Exchange Project, which is to take a delegation of Mobile-area doctors to Havana for more extensive face-to-face conversations with Cuban doctors. Our goal is to create a forum for open conversation between the medical communities of these two historic cities, leading the way to long-term personal and professional relationships. The possible advantages of this communication are far-reaching. Those who met with our Cuban visitors earlier this year began to learn of the remarkable accomplishments of the Cuban health care system, beginning to share information that may one day result in improved health care on both sides of the Florida Straits.

While we all have our opinions on the effectiveness of socialized medicine, the Cuban medical system has dealt extraordinarily well under extreme circumstances, and their research has in some cases been faster and farther-reaching than Western medical research. Cuba’s well-documented and widely-reported low infant mortality rate is due in large part to the structure of the Cuban medical system, and its emphasis on primary care. The Cuban system has also made extraordinary advances in recent years in the fields of vaccinations, AIDS, cancer, and biotechnology. Much as you are eager to share new information you discover, your Cuban counterparts look forward to sharing new developments and ideas with other professionals.

Members of the Society will accompany a group of medical professionals on a fact-finding trip to Havana March 13-20, 2001. Meetings being scheduled for our four working days in Havana include:

Meeting with Cuba’s Minister of Health, for a discussion on the Cuban health system in general

Meeting with Havana City’s Director of Public Health, for a discussion of Havana’s particular problems and how the two cities could work together for mutual benefit

Tour of Havana’s "famous" psychiatric hospital, including a discussion on the hospital’s pre- and post-revolution situations, and a concert by the patients

Tour of the new state-of-the-art Latin American School of Medicine, where students from all over the Carribean train

Meeting with the Director of the Institute of Angiology and Vascular Surgery of the Salvador Allende Hospital, and a tour of the hospital

Individual meetings with Cuban practitioners in the same fields as our delegates

On Saturday and Sunday, we will leave Havana for the country town of Viñales, to allow for some rest, relaxation, and the chance to see the beautiful western part of the island.

The entire package includes:

Round-trip airfare from Miami, including departure taxes

7 nights at Havana’s premier and most famous hotel, El Nacional

Breakfast daily

Farewell dinner at the five-star La Fermina Restaurant

Two guide/translators

Air-conditioned private bus with driver 12 hours each day

Arrival and departure assistance at the Havana airport

A show at the world-famous Tropicana night club

City Tour of Havana, including a tour of a rum factory

Visit to a tobacco factory in Pinar del Rio (on the way to Viñales)

Tour of Viñales and near-by Indian caves

Lunch at Viñales

One night at Los Jazmines Hotel in Viñales (beautiful scenery!)

Spouses are welcome to participate, and we will make arrangements for other cultural, educational and humanitarian activities during the week.

The cost of this trip is $1,800 per person for double occupancy, and $2,000 for single occupancy.

We may be able to schedule our flights so as to allow us to depart Mobile Tuesday morning, and arrive in Havana in time for dinner and a chance to become familiar with the city that evening. The time of the return flight to Miami on Tuesday, March 20 should also allow for return to Mobile the same day.

To conform with the U. S. Treasury Department guidelines, each participant will be required to carry a twenty-four pound package of humanitarian aid. This can include medicines, equipment, or medical supplies. The Society has a list of specifically requested medicines, and can assist participants with this requirement.