La Carlota Hospital

La Carlota Hospital is an Adventist health institution located in the Montemorelos University in Mexico. It is located on the university campus, about 80 kilometers from the city of Monterrey in the state of Nuevo León. La Carlota Hospital, with all its departments, occupies a space of 14,139 square meters and operates a dental clinic and a vision center. Its mailing address is: La Carlota Hospital, Camino al Vapor #209, Colonia Zambrano, Montemorelos, Nuevo León, 67512, Mexico.

Background

In 1938, Dr. Raymundo Garza, a professor of medicine at a local university and a recent convert in the Monterrey congregation, opened a clinic in the basement of the Monterrey church. Hundreds of Mexican Adventists flocked to simple home nursing classes that the Mexican doctor conducted, but this training was not adequate to provide professionally prepared nurses for clinics.

A determined Garza, assisted by three North American doctors, Iner S. Ritchie, Harry Reynolds, and Ralph Smith, responded by conducting an intensive, two months medical missionary institute in Monterrey, beginning June 15, 1940. Four hours daily the doctors taught classes in anatomy and physiology, nursing, first aid, as well as techniques of personal evangelism.

By that time, Mexicans Adventists had built fourteen clinics, all connected to churches, and obligated themselves for eight more…. Before he arrived in Mexico, General Conference Secretary E. D. Dick had convinced the Mexican Union that its principal need was a central training school.¹

All these dreams, hopes, ideals, and efforts on the part of the leaders of the Adventist Church were shared by the pastors and church members in the country. This positively impacted the establishment of Adventist educational and medical institutions in Mexico. The fervent efforts on behalf of evangelism and health inspired the leaders to establish these schools and clinics even though there were only 37 churches and 1,297 members in all of Mexico.² Their vision and dedication was inherited by those who worked in later years at the hospital and at the university.

The leaders of that time, possessing high ideals based on faith and hope in God, began this major project regardless of the frail foundation. The fervent desire to be of service to the community inspired those leaders and the small number of church members to establish both a college and a hospital in four to six years. That fervent desire was shared with all personnel of what would become La Carlota Hospital, especially from 1947-1982 when it first operated under the name Hospital y Sanatorio Montemorelos.

Founding of “Hospital y Sanatorio Montemorelos”

Barely four years after establishing the school named Escuela Agrícola e Industrial Mexicana, the leaders of the Adventist Church in Mexico decided to go beyond providing an education in literacy and mathematics in order to better benefit the community. It was also important to provide an education and focus on health, and to give medical care to the local community. They began to dream of a hospital to carry out this service. The board of directors of Mexican Union Mission met on December 29, 1943, and voted to build a hospital in Montemorelos.³

In January 1945, a committee was established to study the best plans for the project of building Hospital y Sanatorio Montemorelos. The members of the committee included: C. L. Torrey, W. E. Murray, H. F. House, E. Ponce, J. A. Salazar, A. J. Calderón, and J. G. Pettey.⁴ After giving careful study to the project and after preparing the best plans, they began to make the necessary contacts to find the resources that would allow those dreams to become reality. According to the official record, on May 10, 1945, the Board of Directors of Mexican Union Mission adopted the recommendations of the committee and voted to go ahead with the project. At that same meeting, the financial resources already on hand and an estimate of the cost of each section of the hospital were laid out. The first donations that were received totaled USD$90,000, while the total cost of the project was estimated at USD$352,000.⁵

The leaders of Mexican Union Mission advanced with faith and determination and named personnel to administer the new health institution: Dr. T. Gordon Reynolds, administrator; Dr. Iner S. Ritchie, administrator’s assistant; Mrs. Dr. Ritchie, assistant; Mrs. Reynolds, School of Nursing administrator; J. G. Pettey, secretary-treasurer; and C. E. Moon, Field Growth supervisor.⁶ The board also sent an invitation to Mr. Horace Kelly, accompanied by his wife, to be the laboratory technician. Both were efficient workers with experience in medical institutions.⁷

Construction on the new hospital started on August 6, 1946, under the direction of Professor Juan Gil P.⁸ His assistant, Horace Kelly, was an engineer and professor. Both are remembered fondly in the chronicles of the Adventist work in Mexico.

The main funds invested in this project were contributed by:

• The governor of the state of Nuevo León, Arturo B. de la Garza, who bought the property and donated it to the legal branch of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Mexico, Asociación Civil, Filantrópica, y Educativa.

• Glendale Sanitarium and Hospital in Glendale, California, which donated USD$72,750.

• The Kellogg Foundation, which donated USD$145,500.

• Asociación Civil, Filantrópica, y Educativa, which covered all the rest of the costs with money from the Adventist Church in Mexico and the thousands of anonymous persons who also contributed to the finishing of this great project.

The inauguration and dedication of the new Hospital y Sanatorio Montemorelos took place on January 25, 1947. The event was attended by Arturo B. de la Garza, governor of the state of Nuevo León; members of his cabinet; and the mayors of the towns of Allende, Santa Catarina, and Montemorelos. Other notable persons present included: Dr. H. González of the Hospital Civil de Montemorelos; Benjamin G. Horming, a representative of the Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Michigan; J. Leslie from Fort Worth, Texas; John Haynes from Washington, D.C.; and James Moffit, the consul of the United States in Mexico.⁹

Among the founders of Hospital y Sanatorio Montemorelos were Dr. Iner S. Richie, Dr. Raymundo Garza, and Pastor Harold F. House, the educational secretary for the Union at the time.¹⁰ The first part of the hospital that was built was the western side of the main floor, which included all the rooms from #118 to the area of doctors’ offices #1 and #2. The upper floor included rooms #201 to #213, thus providing approximately 30 beds for the hospital on the second floor. The lower floor consisted of a laboratory, pharmacy, x-ray, kitchen, dining room, laundry, dormitory for nursing students, administrative offices, and doctors’ offices. A new dormitory building was constructed especially for nursing students and was first occupied in 1949. Moving the nursing students out of the hospital to their new dormitory raised the number of hospital beds to 53.¹¹ In 1953, four new doctors’ offices, a new x-ray area, and public restrooms were added to the first floor on the east side.

In 1956, 11 new rooms with a full bathroom were built, raising the number of hospital beds to 77. In 1960, rooms were added for a fully-equipped physiotherapy department led by Dr. Charles Smith.¹² In 1972, the following additions were incorporated into the hospital: two surgical rooms, several equipment rooms, a recovery room, a discharge room, and a subcentral station. Above these new areas, a chapel for the hospital was built.

In 1975, rooms #230 through #235 were added, raising the total number of beds to 89. However, as time passed, it was decided to utilize the entire lower floor for doctors’ offices, paramedic services, and diagnostic equipment, so the number of hospital beds was reduced.¹³

The need to provide nurses who accepted and practiced the Adventist philosophy toward health and patient care became evident. To solve this problem, the founders of the hospital and the board of directors of the Asociación Civil, Filantrópica, y Educativa decided to start a nursing school. The school opened its doors on February 6, 1948, with Professor Margaret Peugh, who was a nurse and the school’s director.¹⁴ On May 23, 1951, the nursing school was incorporated into the Universidad de Nuevo León. In 1967, it became part of Colegio Vocacional y Profesional Montemorelos.¹⁵ After the college changed its name and status and became Universidad de Montemorelos with its own school of medicine, it was decided to establish a new hospital.

In 1982, Hospital y Sanatorio Montemorelos was replaced by a newer and much larger building on the southeastern part of the campus of Montemorelos University. It was named Centro Médico de Montemorelos (now La Carlota Hospital).

Construction of Centro Médico de Montemorelos

The construction of the new medical center officially began on December 11, 1977, with a cornerstone-laying ceremony. This cold day was marked by a continuous drizzle of rain. Nevertheless, about 1,000 people witnessed this historic occasion. Those participating in the ceremony were Mr. C. Reynaldo Gutiérrez, mayor of the city of Montemorelos; W. J. Hackett, vice-president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists; B. L. Archibold, president of the Inter-American Division; R. R. Drachenberg, treasurer of the Inter-American Division; and Jaime Castrejón Sánchez, president of Montemorelos University.¹⁶

The new medical center would serve a large area within a 160-kilometer radius of the university as well as many isolated areas in the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range. The center would also offer training opportunities for medical and nursing university students. Kepler Hernández, dean of the school of medicine, said during the cornerstone laying ceremony that calling the new medical center just a “hospital” would not do the hospital justice. He expected it to also be a training center to “prepare Christian young men and women to serve humanity wherever God may call them.”¹⁷

The new hospital, Centro Médico de Montemorelos, was inaugurated on December 10, 1981. Its administrator was Samuel Leonor, and its medical director was Dr. Ricardo Arízaga.¹⁸ The inauguration ceremony’s participants included J. H. Figueroa, Alvaro Sauza, Jaime Castrejón, R. R. Drachenberg, R. Folkenberg, S. Leonor, E. E. Carman, and Valeriano García, mayor of Montemorelos. This new hospital with 120 beds replaced the old hospital, which had 50 beds at the time and had been in use since 1947.¹⁹

Officers of the Inter-American Division and representatives of the German evangelical organization that helped fund the project also participated in the inauguration ceremony. Denominational funding for the Medical Center included a 13^th Sabbath Overflow offering in 1980. … It will provide a medical outreach in the area and serve as the clinical facility for the School of Medicine at Montemorelos University.²⁰

In 1982, the Centro Médico de Montemorelos changed its name to La Carlota Hospital. If we were to judge the importance and influence of La Carlota Hospital based on the 15 hospital beds that it currently has, it would be a mistake for we would think of it as a place offering just primary care and minor concerns for just a few people.

Hospital Services

The hospital offers extensive and complete services, including: primary care physician visits, geriatrics, allergies, anesthesiology, cardiology, bariatric surgery, general surgery, plastic surgery, dermatology, gastroenterology, gynecology and obstetrics, physical therapy and rehabilitation, family medicine, general medicine, internal medicine, pneumonology, nephrology, neurosurgery, nutrition, pediatrics, oncology, psychology, ENT, psychiatry, rheumatology, traumatology and orthopedics, and urology.²¹ A cafeteria offers both a vegetarian and a lacto-ovo-vegetarian menu for its visitors.

Emergency Care

La Carlota Hospital offers the following urgent care services: hospitalization, intensive care, surgeries, radiology and imaging, laboratory, blood bank, physical therapy and rehabilitation, pharmacy, and hemodialysis.

Center for Healthy Living

La Carlota Hospital provides a Center for Healthy Living that includes: a program for weight control, provision of vegetarian food, hydrotherapy, massage, exfoliant, vapor treatments, jacuzzi, Swiss treatments, foot baths, facial massage, a gymnasium with specialized equipment, and classes in healthy living.

Vision Institute

La Carlota Hospital Vision Institute offers ophthalmology subspecialty consultations in the following areas: retina, glaucoma, strabismus, and oculoplastic surgery. The institute offers, among other things, surgeries and procedures in subspecialty areas. These include: cataract, corneal transplant, chalazion, secondary implant, simple pterygium, pterygium with allograft and lasik, and correction of astigmatism and hypermetropia.

Dental Clinic

La Carlota Hospital Dental Clinic offers: general dentistry, oral surgery, orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, gerontology, maxillofacial surgery, endodontics, dental rehabilitation, periodontics, implants, and a dental laboratory for the production and service of orthodontics.

Judging by the quantity and high specialization of the different services offered by La Carlota Hospital, it is shown to be an institution whose influence reaches far beyond its walls to a great portion of the world.

Historical Role of La Carlota Hospital

Since its inception, even though experiencing name changes through the years, La Carlota Hospital has offered the best health services to all the nearby inhabitants as well as those of the neighboring communities. It is the only local health institution that has such advanced medical services in the city of Montemorelos. Over many years it served as the health services provider to both local and state unions and government dependencies. For the same reason throughout its history, the hospital has had excellent relations with both the citizens and the local authorities in Montemorelos and the surrounding areas.²²

One of the greatest services offered by La Carlota Hospital is the Vision Institute. This institute receives and treats thousands of persons who come from five states of Mexico: the northern part of Veracruz, the southern part of Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Nuevo León, and Coahuila. These thousands of patients are organized and supported by the municipal authorities of these regions through the National System for Integral Family Development (DIF). The local community that sends the patients provide their transportation, and the Vision Institute charges them a much lower price than they would get in any other place. Every month the Vision Institute carries out an average of 500 ophthalmologic procedures, which adds up to about 6,000 per year.

During the year, the hospital may interact with 30-40 thousand people, who every morning will receive a brief spiritual meditation and who will be given the Adventist “Book of the Year.” In addition, those who show interest will be asked if they desire more information about the topic. Those who answer “yes” are put in touch with the chaplain of the hospital, and he will meet with them. If the person shows interest in knowing more, the chaplain will put them in touch with the pastor or church in the place where they live. In this way, La Carlota Hospital carries out part of its mission.²³

La Carlota Hospital operates a branch clinic in Reynosa, Tamaulipas. The clinic follows the same plan of connection and information for interested patients. A group of these patients meet each Sabbath, some of whom become members of the church. The hospital has agreements with authorities of the communities within the hospital’s area of influence. In these agreements, the hospital provides a one-day general clinic in these communities and treats patients, especially those with dental and vision health issues.

Through its Vision Institute, La Carlota Hospital offers the specialty in ophthalmology. Since beginning this program, it has provided many doctors who specialize in ophthalmology and serve humanity in different parts of Mexico and the world.²⁴

Perspectives for the Future

La Carlota Hospital’s Board of Directors has plans to expand the hospital’s Outpatient Department to better serve those seeking outpatient hospital services. The Board also wants to expand the consulting area and create an intensive care unit near the operating room area. La Carlota Hospital would then be the only hospital to offer this service in the southern part of the state of Nuevo León.

There is also a plan to enlarge the area now known as Sala 2 to increase the number of hospital beds. The administrators are also hoping to equip the Reynosa Clinic so it can continue to offer eye care and other health services. Plans are in place to establish more clinics in different parts of the country to serve others in many ways.²⁵

Leaders

Administrators: Alex R. Montieth (1948-1949); Samuel Torres (1949-1954); Melchor Covarrubbias (1954-1956); J. H. Flenoor (1956-1959); Gerald Williams (1959-1963); Eugene T. Burley (1964-1969); Eduardo Weis (1970-1972); Estela Villarreal (1973-1974); Pablo Balboa (1975-1976); Reyes Sosa (1976-1977); Héctor Brignoni (1977-1978); Joaquín Balboa (1979-1980); Don Wilson (1980-1981); Samuel Leonor (1982-1983); Benedicto Romero (1983-1984); Joel Sebastián (1984-1985); Joaquín Balboa (1985-1987); David Guzmán (1987-1989); Ramón Meza (1990-1993); Joaquín Balboa (1993-1997); Julio Vázquez (1998-2000); Joaquín Balboa (2001-2002)

General Managers: Zeno Charles-Marcel (2002-2012); Joel Guzmán (2012-2014); Ismael Castillo (2014- )

Medical Directors: Herzel Butka (1947-1954); Raymundo Garza (1948-1949); Mario Mendoza de Hoyos (1955-1957); Richard E. Welch (1958-1959); Gordon C. Hachett (1960-1965); David G. Small (1965-1970); Eusebio A. Zambrano (1971-1972); Adelio Rocco (1972-1973); José Luís Muñoz (1974-1975); David Corona (1976-1979); Donald Sargeant (1980-1981); Kepler Hernández (1985-1989); Naif Cano (1990-1993); Abel Carpintero (1996-1999); Francisco López (1999-2000); Victor Pérez (2000- 2004); Alejandro Gil Santa María (2004-2007); Adrien Brutus (2008-2014); María Cristina Carpintero Castillo (2015- )

Sources

Castellanos Álvarez, Haroldo. Hospital y Sanatorio Montemorelos – breve reseña histórica. March 1996. Document 56, AV-4005-f-4-a. Ellen G. White Research Center, Montemorelos University, Montemorelos, Nuevo León, Mexico.

Chapman, Muriel Elizabeth. Mission of Love: A Century of Seventh-day Adventist Nursing. Portland, OR: Association of Seventh-day Adventist Nurses-NAD, 2000.

Cortés Antonio, Félix, and Velino Salazar Escarpulli. Esforzados y Valientes. Montemorelos, N. L., Mexico: Editorial Perspectiva y Análisis, 2015.

Evans, Donna. “Medical Center Inaugurated at Montemorelos.” Inter-American News Flashes, February 2, 1982.

Greenleaf, Floyd. The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Latin America and the Caribbean, Vol. II. Berrien Springs, Michigan: Andrews University Press, 1992.

“Historia del Hospital La Carlota.” Document 56, AV-4005-f-4-a. Ellen G. White Research Center, Montemorelos University, Montemorelos, Nuevo León, Mexico.

“Hospital ‘La Carlota.’” Document 39, AV-4005-f-4-a. Ellen G. White Research Center, Montemorelos University, Montemorelos, Nuevo León, Mexico.

“Hospital y Sanatorio Montemorelos.” Document 40, AV-4005-f-4-a. Ellen G. White Research Center, Montemorelos University, Montemorelos, Nuevo León, Mexico.

Mexican Union Mission Board of Directors Minutes, December 29, 1943. Ellen G. White Research Center, Montemorelos University, Montemorelos, Nuevo León, Mexico.

Mexican Union Mission Board of Directors Minutes, May 10, 1945. Ellen G. White Research Center, Montemorelos University, Montemorelos, Nuevo León, Mexico.

“Programa de Inauguración del Centro Médico Montemorelos.” Document 7, AV-4005-f-4-a. Ellen G. White Research Center, Montemorelos University, Montemorelos, Nuevo León, Mexico.

“Reseña Histórica del Hospital y Sanatorio Montemorelos.” Document 1, AV-4005-f-4-a. Ellen G. White Research Center, Montemorelos University, Montemorelos, Nuevo León, Mexico.

“Reseña Histórica del Hospital y Sanatorio Montemorelos.” Document 26, AV-4005-f-4-a. Ellen G. White Research Center, Montemorelos University, Montemorelos, Nuevo León, Mexico.

Salazar Escarpulli, Velino. 100 Años de Adventismo en México. Montemorelos, N. L., Mexico: Centro de Producción Unión Mexicana del Norte, 1997.

Wood, Kenneth H. “Construction begins on new medical center.” ARH, April 20, 1978.

Notes

1. Floyd Greenleaf, The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Latin America and the Caribbean, Vol. II (Berrien Springs, Michigan: Andrews University Press, 1992), 90, 91.↩

2. Félix Cortés Antonio and Velino Salazar Escarpulli, Esforzados y Valientes (Montemorelos, N. L., Mexico: Editorial Perspectiva y Análisis, 2015), 105.↩

3. Mexican Union Mission Board of Directors, vote 2057 (December 29, 1943), 641, Ellen G. White Research Center, Montemorelos University.↩

4. Velino Salazar Escarpulli, 100 Años de Adventismo en México (Montemorelos, N. L., Mexico: Centro de Producción Unión Mexicana del Norte, 1997), 116.↩

5. Mexican Union Mission Board of Directors, vote 501 (May 10, 1945), 802, Ellen G. White Research Center, Montemorelos University.↩

6. Ibid., vote 521, 806.↩

7. Ibid., vote 522, 806.↩

8. “Reseña Histórica del Hospital y Sanatorio Montemorelos.” Document 26, AV-4005-f-4-a, 1, Ellen G. White Research Center, Montemorelos University.↩

9. Haroldo Castellanos Álvarez, Hospital y Sanatorio Montemorelos – breve reseña histórica, March 1996. Document 56, AV-4005-f-4-a, Ellen G. White Research Center, Montemorelos University.↩

10. “Historia del Hospital La Carlota.” Document 56, AV-4005-f-4-a, 1, Ellen G. White Research Center, Montemorelos University.↩

11. “Hospital ’La Carlota.’” Document 39, AV-4005-f-4-a, 4, Ellen G. White Research Center, Montemorelos University.↩

12. Ibid., 5.↩

13. “Reseña Histórica del Hospital y Sanatorio Montemorelos.” Document 26, Av-4005-f-4-a, 3, Ellen G. White Research Center, Montemorelos University.↩

14. Muriel Elizabeth Chapman, Mission of Love: A Century of Seventh-day Adventist Nursing (Portland, OR: Association of Seventh-day Adventist Nurses-NAD, 2000), 192.↩

15. Ibid., 192, 193.↩

16. Kenneth H. Wood, “Construction begins on new medical center,” ARH, April 20, 1978, 24 (416).↩

17. Ibid.↩

18. “Hospital ’La Carlota.’” Document 39, AV-4005-f-4-a, 10, Ellen G. White Research Center, Montemorelos University.↩

19. “Programa de Inauguración del Centro Médico Montemorelos,” Document 7, AV-4005-f-4-a, Ellen G. White Research Center, Montemorelos University.↩

20. Donna Evans, “Medical Center Inaugurated at Montemorelos,” Inter-American News Flashes, February 2, 1982, 1.↩

21. Cristina Carpintero C., La Carlota Hospital medical director, interview by author, Montemorelos, Nuevo León, Mexico, September 21, 2020.↩

22. Julio César García, La Carlota Hospital general accountant, interview by Félix Cortés A., Montemorelos, Nuevo León, Mexico, May 26, 2025.↩

23. Ibid.↩

24. Ibid.↩

25. Ibid.↩