CLPN Notes

Because we can.

July 10, 2018February 11, 2022franciscoagrazNo Comments

” Because we can … In my home town of Houston, Texas, few people do not have access to quality health care. In Okoti-Odekpe, Nigeria, few people do have access to quality health care. Build a hospital in Houston and you do a good thing. Build one in Okoti-Odekpe and you change a piece of the world in a profound way. I believe this effort will bring hope where there is despair; wellness where there is sickness; opportunities where there are limitations and systemic, sustainable growth where there is a compelling need. What a gift – what a legacy: ‘they built a hospital where there was none’. Please join us… Read More

Mental Health Issues For The Poor in Nigeria

June 16, 2018January 27, 2022franciscoagrazNo Comments

I am Ignacio Valdes, MD, a psychiatrist with a practice in Houston, Texas. I am acquainted with the urgent need for providing psychological care and psychiatric treatment for the poor of Nigeria, as a result of my practice here in Houston. I volunteered to assist Fr John with this important – difficult – effort, to build a Western style hospital, to be called the Catholic League Medical and Mental Health Hospital at Okoti-Odekpe, Anambra State, Nigeria. I urge you to go to the “Learning Corner” tab of this website. We have posted some of the many expert papers which describe long-standing mental health and medical healthcare problems that today continue… Read More

High Quality Health Care Is Critical

June 16, 2018July 10, 2018franciscoagrazNo Comments

Quality health care is important, especially for the poor in developing countries. It can be a matter of life and death. I am Houston neurosurgeon Bruce Ehni, MD, and I personally know how important it is to receive healthcare at a hospital from physician. In developing countries, the dangers of self-medication are even more evident than they are here in the United States. For me, self-medication almost led to disaster. Fifteen years ago, I became acutely ill with an abrupt onset of ulcerative colitis. I went to gastroenterologist Craig Johnson, MD, who performed a colonoscopy and prescribed Azulfidine. That worked and I settled into a pattern of a bout with… Read More

Fr John’s Hospital Mission is Important

June 16, 2018March 8, 2021franciscoagraz2 Comments

JESUS WANTS US TO SHOW EVERYONE THE KIND OF LOVE THAT OTHERS CAN KNOW AND RECOGNIZE. FOR THE POOR OF NIGERIA, A HOSPITAL PROVIDING HIGH QUALITY MEDICAL ANE MENTAL HEALTH CARE IS HOW TO SHOW THAT LOVE.

The Journey Begins

June 16, 2018July 10, 2018franciscoagrazNo Comments

How do you – sitting in Houston – design a new hospital for rural Nigeria that will operate according to internationally recognized standards for medical and mental health care? That was the challenge facing me when I answered Fr. John Ugobueze’s call for a volunteer AIA architect. I have helped major medical corporations, along with a team of other architects, in designing and overseeing the building of new hospitals in the United States and overseas. So I am no stranger to such tasks. Local building standards and building techniques differ from country to country, but the strict international standards of conceptualizing and designing a hospital places a high burden of… Read More