Gustavo was the Clinic’s on-the-ground Chief Protector. Everyone knew and respected Gustavo. He was a commanding gentle-giant strongman, with kind eyes and a beaming smile. It was not a coincidence that the only time our Clinic pharmacy suffered an attempted robbery many years ago was during Gustavo’s vacation. They wouldn’t have dared mess with him… he was always a reliable presence for our team.
Even though Gustavo lived 30 minutes away in Rivas, he was there for us.
Even though he had primary care of his three young children, he was there for us.
Even though he took good health and fitness to heart so passionately that he and his father started their own gym in Rivas – where, in his off hours, he personally led classes pushing his friends and patrons to reach higher and faster to achieve better health – he was there for us.
So, it was a shock (and too ironic) when last Monday, shortly after he sent me his report, Gustavo suffered a massive fatal heart attack after walking over to our pharmacy, telling his colleague he didn’t feel well.
Our team is devastated. We lost our protector, our gentle giant, Gustavo.
As you can see from these photos and videos of Gustavo, there are so many ways we relied on him:
- Gustavo procured our SUV ambulance – the only one in the region – and oversaw the ambulance team.
- He expanded and managed our pharmacy, delivering more medicines at a cheaper cost than you can find in any pharmacy in nearby towns. His pharmacy staff inventoried and distributed donated medicines free to those in need.
- He represented our Clinic at a multitude of trainings and educational presentations by the Clinic with dignity and professionalism.
- He made sure our facility was always functional, overseeing all operational expansions, from our septic system, to gardens to water and electricity, to roads and landscaping.
…how he always made sure to save honey for me – right from the Clinic’s beehive – on my winter visits…
…how he speedily but wisely guided us through rivers and mud going offroad to our outreach brigades…
…his love of good food, and his delight whenever we had a special meal prepared for the team at Rancho Santana, especially at our Clinic team meetings at Casa Rica…
…how he always took great photos of the Clinic team events and shared them proudly with me to keep me updated…
…at our health fair it was our tradition together to distribute ice cream bars to hundreds of children, and he helped me negotiate a price with the ice cream vendor…
…he always persuaded me to get before the local news media camera with him to promote our health fair and clinic, in my rough Spanish.
One year we were able to bring Gustavo to the United States. It was his big dream to go to NYC, and he was thrilled to achieve it! He loved to wear his Yankee hat even though he knew the U.S. Clinic office was based in Oriole territory.
I will always remember Gustavo’s all-around pride and passion. He stood upright and strong for our Clinic, community and team… both physically and spiritually.
In the coming week, in honor of Father’s Day, I had planned to send you a series of emails featuring a few fathers who work at the Clinic or from our community.
Gustavo was one of them.
In fact, he had already drafted a Father’s Day letter for you this year, just as he did last year. I’m adding his letter below. And last week he recorded this video talking about what the Clinic meant to him.
May you rest in peace and love, Gustavo. Thank you so much for your service. We will miss you.
Julia Guth, Chair,
[email protected]
P.S. In the coming days, the Board and team will be putting together a fund to give financial support to Gustavo’s family. If you want to donate to the Clinic specifically in support of Gustavo’s family, click here.
This Father’s Biggest Wish
Good morning,
It’s about time we met! Julia and the Board suggested Father’s Day as a good time for me to introduce myself. And most importantly, to share a bit about my background as the Clinic Senior Director and my vision for what would make us more successful in the community.
Julia also wanted me to share what it’s like to be a professional, single Dad in Nicaragua.
That is why I’m writing to you today. Father’s Day is coming up in the States – June 15. And in Nicaragua it’s June 23 – and I have lots to celebrate!
I came to the Clinic as our first pharmacist and opened the pharmacy there. I continue to manage the procurement, distribution, and storage of medications. I also manage the building and grounds maintenance teams.
Most importantly, I am the father to three beautiful children, Lucina Larisa (14 years old), Gustavo Adolfo (9 years old), and 8-month old Liam Alejandro. All three of my children live with me full-time. I’m fortunate to have a support person to help take care of them, in addition to my mother who helps us when needed.
Throughout my parenting adventure, I’ve learned to play the role of the mother and the father. Candidly, I have found this to be easier than expected so far… maybe because I simply love them, and they love me. We have a very close relationship. I try to pay attention to everything they need and be present in each of their moments of happiness and sadness. I hope that God gives me good health and allows me to continue to watch them grow and become good people.
When I’m at work they are studying, but I try to be aware of their movements and needs. When they were little, I had to perfect my skills in time management. Apart from my work with the Clinic, I own a gym as a family business in Rivas. Every afternoon after work, I go with my children to check up on the gym, and we train together.
I teach them to see the positive side of our situation and optimize our time together.
As the long-time Operations Director of the Roberto Clemente Clinic, I bring the same perspective of resilience and optimism to the team. I always try to be positive in my work, even when handling adversities. We have developed a great senior management team – having worked through many major challenges together over the years – especially dealing with lack of funds, periodic flooding, and COVID-19. Each person here realizes how much the community depends on us. We strive to be accountable to the community in the best way we can, with the resources we have.But there is so much more we could do for patients and our programs if we had more funds.We are making plans with the Board of Directors to upgrade our rundown facility, eventually build a new one, and finally upgrade our equipment and systems. It’s all critically needed, and your support is also critical and much appreciated. (Please visit our donation page here.)
My goal for the Clinic is to get this facility in much better shape for our patients and our team. After being in operation for over 20 years, we need to make serious upgrades in the infrastructure, vehicles, and our electronic and purified water systems so that we can provide the community with much-needed, local quality care for years to come.Thank you for meeting me today.
Gustavo Adolfo Ibarra Marín,
General Manager & Operations Director
The Roberto Clemente Health Clinic