Cuba Trip Information

Dates  July 8 – 14 (16)

Group Leaders

Dr. Stan Grogg and Barbara Grogg will be your group leaders. If you have
questions, please contact Barbara at [email protected].

Participants should arrive July 8, 2023 into Jose Marti International Airport  We will travel to Matanza from the airport.

There are 3 clinic days scheduled in Havana.

Clinics will be held in Matanza on July 9-11. 
July 11-16 will be in Havana (participants may leave early if necessary)
Return flights should be from Jose Marti International l Airport

Thank you for your inquiry about our Cuba trip. This particular trip is very different from any of the other trips with Power of a Nickel. When visiting Cuba several years ago we encountered a wonderful man who owned a travel agency in Cuba. After spending some time with him, he shared the real situation with us about the medical problems in his beloved country. Cuba has the largest medical school in the whole Caribbean and train physicians for deployment throughout the Caribbean and S. America. All physicians (except plastic surgeons) are employed of the government. After saying that, there are 2 physicians who are members of churches we will be working with and they are so happy to have us visit. Cuba has a wonderful public health system that perhaps we can learn from. The real problem is that when one of the easily accessed physicians orders a prescription, the prescription is taken to a pharmacy and, sadly, the shelves are empty. Literally empty. The lack of common meds such as aspirin, lisinopril, metformin, on and on… is unbelievable. The meds are not even available on the black market. A small package of Band-Aids is $10US. The need, then, is not so much for our medical services (although we certainly do give consultations and meds that we have with us, but rather the meds and supplies we take to our hosts. We take our listening and compassion to a wonderful people. We take our enthusiasm for the beauty of their country and their desire for us to enjoy ourselves in their world.

Power of a Nickel is a humanitarian organization, and we embrace those of all different faiths. In Cuba, however, we have partnered with a Christian organization. The church leaders make all arrangements for the “clinics” that are held in their churches. As a healthcare provider, you are not required to participate in the religious activities – but are certainly welcomed to do so.

Know that regardless of your religious affiliation, you are welcomed and we want you to experience Cuba comfortably. You will be asked to bring with you first aid items, OTC meds, and other health items.
We will work in churches in Havana and in Mantanza. We stay in a hostel in Havana (that means it is a small private “boutique” hotel and in Mantanza. The price is based on double occupancy. There may be some single rooms available at an additional cost. We will need to know when you complete your application if you are requesting a single room. For our leisure time in Cuba, we will be at the beach resort.  We travel via vans. Breakfasts and most lunches are included.   Our hosts will be making our specific itinerary – but this is an overview of what to expect.  Our team size is a maximum of 14. The make-up of the team will not be known until we have applications and deposits.

We encourage medical and non-medical folks as well. Skills such as hair cutting, coloring, nail care and massage were in huge demand our last trip. Our hosts graciously gave us lists of items that were either not available or in dire shortage at the time of our trip. We will also be partnering with Days for Girls and providing education and feminine hygiene kits.  Seeing the faces of those receiving even bandaids, hand lotion, a toothbrush was priceless.

We encourage medical and non-medical folks as well. Skills such as hair cutting, coloring, nail care and massage were in huge demand our last trip. Our hosts graciously gave us lists of items that were either not available or in dire shortage at the time of our trip. Seeing the faces of those receiving even bandaids, hand lotion, a toothbrush was priceless.

If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Barbara Grogg, ARNP, C-FP

Checklist

• Complete the application here
• Submit your $206 deposit here
• Make certain your passport does not expire before October 1, 2023
• Make certain you have the recommended immunizations
• Upload the required documents here for your team role (.pdf format)
• Your final invoice will be sent to you via email 70 days prior to departure.
• Final payment due  – payable by check to Power of a Nickel will be due 60 days prior to departure,

Our Roles

Because the healthcare system and public health system is very good in Cuba, our roles will be different than those in other countries. We will be taking medications and supplies to our Cuban colleagues for their use long after we depart. We work closely with churches in Cuba to serve their communities by offering church-based clinics and house calls as arranged by our hosts.

This trip encourages both healthcare professionals as well as others who would like to be a part of this partnership who are not in the healthcare field.

Cancellation Policy

• Final payment for the trip is due 60 days prior to trip start date.
• 59-30 days prior to departure, 50% refund
• 29-0 days prior to departure, no refund

Trip cancellation insurance (different from evacuation insurance) is strongly encouraged to avoid forfeiting funds if you must cancel for any reason.