OF MAINE
ABOUT US
Partners in Health of Maine was originally formed as a division of Eastern Maine Charities (a local 501c foundation), it formally incorporated in 1992 as a separate 501c3 non-profit volunteer organization with the mission of providing health services, training, education and volunteer opportunities for health care providers in third world countries.
Our Founder
​The organization grew around the volunteer work of Dr. Robert Bach, a general surgeon from Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, and other health care workers who had been volunteering in Central America since 1975. Dr. Bach was active in Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, particularly on the Nicaraguan Atlantic coast region, prior to the Sandinitsta-Contra war. Indigenous Misquito Indians and people of Afro-Caribe and Spanish descent populate the area, which was in the midst of the conflict. The largest town, Puerto Cabezas, became a refugee center for Atlantic coastal Nicaragua and it’s population swelled from 15,000 to over 35,000.
Dr. Bach returned to Nicaragua after the war ended in 1989 and found the medical infrastructure devastated. Partners in Health of Maine pushed for the rebuilding of the hospital in Puerto Cabezas and were able to obtain pledges from the US State Department through USAID and from the United Nations. PIHOM fully replaced the hospital equipment and provided supplies and training. In 1991 PIHOM collected over 66,000 lbs. of donated medical equipment and supplies that were flown to Puerto Cabezas by the US Air Force and Air National Guard. The new 60-bed hospital was dedicated in 1992. PIH funded the addition of two operating rooms several years later.
Our Mission
Partners in Health of Maine is a nonprofit, nondenominational organization whose mission is to provide health services, training, education and volunteer opportunities for health care providers in third world countries. Its activities have been limited to Central America, with a focus on Nicaragua and Honduras. The organization grew around the volunteer work of Dr. Robert Bach, a general surgeon from Maine, and other health care workers who had been volunteering in Central America since 1975.
Most of the work of Partners in Health of Maine has centered on the Autonomous Atlantic Region (RAAN), Nicaragua’s largest province, which occupies approximately a fifth of the land area and is located on the Northeastern Caribbean coast. This area is inhabited by indigenous Miskito Indians and people of Afro-Caribe and Spanish descent. One of the poorest regions of an impoverished county, the RAAN has lagged behind in the development of infrastructure and the economy. In addition, the area was a center of fighting during the Contra-Sandinista civil war and has been periodically devastated by hurricanes.
