Cuban Doctors Keep Italian Hospitals Open Despite US Push

Emergency rooms that once made patients wait half a day now see them in under an hour, thanks to an unlikely group of medical heroes in southern Italy.

Calabria, Italy's poorest region, welcomed over 200 Cuban doctors in 2023 after severe staff shortages forced some hospital departments to close entirely. The doctors arrived through Cuba's international medical mission program, which has sent physicians to underserved areas worldwide for decades.

"It was a disaster. I was keeping the emergency room open all by myself," said Francesco Moschella, chief physician at Polistena hospital, describing the situation before the Cubans arrived. Now, six Cuban doctors make up half the staff in an emergency room that serves 30,000 patients annually.

The transformation has been dramatic. Wait times that stretched to 12 hours have dropped to less than 60 minutes at facilities across the region.

Cuba trains more doctors per capita than almost any country on Earth, with 9.5 physicians per 1,000 people. That's nearly triple the average in developed nations. The country's community health model, designed to deliver quality care with limited resources, is studied by healthcare systems worldwide.

The Ripple Effect

The program's success extends beyond wait times. Rural hospitals that were on the brink of closing have stayed open, giving remote communities access to emergency care and specialized services they would otherwise lose.

Dr. Zoila Yakelin Arevalo Cruz, an emergency medicine specialist from Cuba, said the shortage surprised her team. "For a first-world country, Europe, we had a completely different idea. We didn't think that the shortage of doctors was so serious."

The doctors work under individual contracts directly with the region, receiving their pay in Italian bank accounts. Many voluntarily send portions of their salaries home to support Cuba's struggling economy and acknowledge the free medical education they received.

Regional president Roberto Occhiuto has faced pressure from U.S. officials to end the arrangement but refuses. "I have also reiterated that I needed to keep hospitals open and that I intend to keep the Cuban doctors who are currently in Italy in their posts," he told officials.

The program has proven so successful that 63 additional Cuban doctors recently applied to work independently in Calabria's healthcare system.

Calabria ranks last among Italian regions in public healthcare access, with wages 30% below the national average. The Cuban doctors have become essential partners in addressing a crisis that was forcing local residents to travel hours for basic emergency care.

Thousands of Italian patients now receive faster, quality medical attention because healthcare workers from across the world chose to help.