Oscar de la Renta Pediatric Center Opens in the Dominican Republic
The Oscar de la Renta Pediatric Center, built in memory of the designer by Grupo Puntacana Foundation, opened Wednesday in the Dominican Republic’s Veron Punta Cana region of La Altagracia.
The event was attended by Dominican Republic’s president Danilo Medina and Annette de la Renta. Oscar de la Renta died in 2014.
The facility will provide professional health services to the population of more than 15,000 children now living in the underserved communities in and around Veron Punta Cana.
The facility will be managed in partnership with the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dominican Republic Ministry of Public Health, Servicio Nacional de Salud, Akron Children’s Hospital and Grupo Puntacana Foundation.
The pediatric center will treat between 50 and 60 children a day, ranging in age from newborns to 15 years old. Services will be rendered free of charge, with a modest fee for laboratory services. The facility will diagnose and treat common illnesses, offer regular check-ups and immunizations, take X rays and scans, and track children’s growth progress.
“We are very pleased to open the Oscar de la Renta Pediatric Center and bring high-caliber medical care to the children of Punta Cana,” said Frank Rainieri, chief executive officer of Grupo Puntacana. “This facility means a great deal to us. It is the result of a shared mission with Oscar de la Renta to ensure that the children in our region will thrive for generations to come.”
The facility was inspired by de la Renta’s longtime passion for La Altagracia, where he was an investor and homeowner at Puntacana Resort & Club. During his time as a homeowner, de la Renta worked to improve the resort and the surrounding community.
Among his many initiatives, de la Renta worked with tennis pro Felix de Los Santos to develop Puntacana Resort & Club’s Ballboy Program benefiting the young men of La Altagracia and encouraging them to further their educations. He designed Tortuga Bay at Puntacana Resort & Club, in 2005, the only hotel project that he ever worked on. De la Renta spent the final 20 years of his life in the region.
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