HOSPITALLARY ACTIVITIES OF THE CUBAN ASSOCIATION
The purpose of the Order of Malta is the sanctification of its members through the defense of the faith and service to the poor. Through the centuries, the Order’s commitment to service to the poor has focused on the delivery of medical services. The members of the Cuban Association participate in a series of projects intended to continue this tradition.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CUBA
La Casita de Malta
St. Ann’s Mission
Medical Missions
Financial Grants
CUBA
Consistent with the origins of the Association, its members amd its primary responsibility to care for the sick and poor of Cuba, the Association has established a program of funding projects operated through forty three parishes and other institutions of the Catholic Church in Cuba.
In this fashion, it funds the delivery of over 700,000 meals each year for the elderly. It also funds a portion of the operating budget of the San Carlos Seminary and of the old age home for Cuban priests, in addition to three Hospitals of the Sisters of Mary.
We also collaborate with the Spanish Association in the Church of Our Lady of Mercy project in La Habana, under the Vincentian Fathers since 1867. See link 
La Casita de Malta
Based in the San Juan Bosco Church, la Casita de Malta is a food distribution program supported by the Cuban Association. Please go to the page La Casita de Malta for further information.
Legal Clinic.
The Blessed Gerard Legal Clinic was established in partnership with Catholic Charities Legal Services of the Archidioceses of Miami.
Catholic Charities Legal Services focuses exclusively on immigration related matters while the Order’s volunteer attorneys help with other legal issues, including landlord/tenant and debtor/creditor issues. The Legal Clinic serves over 1,500 clients each year.
When fully operational, the Center intends to add the following services:(i) food, clothing and medical distribution to the needy, (ii) psychological counseling, and (iii) financial advice (assistance with managing consumer debt).
St. Ann’s Mission
Located in the agricultural section of Miami-Dade County, St. Ann’s Mission ministers to the migrant worker community of South Florida. Similar to Our Lady of Philermo, it tends to the material and physical needs of its community as well as ministering to its spiritual needs.
The Order assists with the medical needs of the community by conducting semi-monthly medical missions into the migrant camps. It also conducts a Health Fair twice per year.
A new dental facility was established to assist the area residents with dental services especially directed to the children in the area.
Medical Missions to Latin America
The Order’s doctors conduct medical missions to the Dominican Republic and other countries in Latin America and the Carribean. Typically, the all-volunteer team consists of four to nine doctors, an equal number of nurses and physicians assistants, and several non-medical personel that help to distribute materials and medicines. All medicines are given free of charge. A typical mission which is conducted over a three-day weekend will serve between 700 and 1,000 patients resulting in over 1,500 patient visits and the distribution of medications exceeding $100,000 in value.
In the Dominican Republic, the Cuban Association normally visits the Manuel J. Centurion Medical Center in I.L.A.C. at Licey al Medio, serving a poor community not only during these medical missions, but with medicines and supplies which last during the intervals between visits every six months.
The Institute for Latin American Concern (ILAC) was founded by a group of Cuban Jesuits at Regis in Toronto in 1972. Fr Ernesto Travieso, S.J. and Fr Narciso Sanchez-Medio, S.J. brought the program to Creighton University in 1976. The purpose was to help other Jesuit, diocesan priests, and members of other religious communities from North America to get to know and understand the people and challenges of Latin America.
Since that time, ILAC has evolved in facilitating a group of programs, which continue to bridge the gap between North Americans and Dominicans. These have included the New York Eye and Ear institute, American Hernia Association, Creighton Physical Therapy, ENT operatives from Creighton and Miami, Internal Medicine operatives from Creighton and Pittsburgh.
Financial Grants
In addition to providing its personal services, the Cuban Association has established a program of financial assistance to projects in South Florida, Cuba, the Caribbean and Central America. In order to be approved, a project must be sponsored by a member of the Association and be consistent with the charisma of Order. Some of the projects which the Association sponsors financially on an annual basis include:
Fundación San José Obrero:
Based in Choluteca, Honduras, this Foundation operated by the
Catholic Church in Honduras provides needed social services as well as employment to the community.
The Association assisted with the renovation of the maternity ward in the clinic and periodically sends materials, medical equipment and financial assistance.