Health
Health in Cabudare and Barquisimeto
How the valley's major hospitals and outpatient clinics are doing, with what works and what fails in separate columns and every fact dated and linked. And who fills the gap: Fundación Higea and its volunteers.
Latest in health
Residents and health workers in La Guaira link rubble dust to a rise in respiratory illness
According to TalCual, the UNDP estimates 2.1 million tons of rubble after the June 24 earthquake; reported pneumonia cases nationwide rose from 2,225 to 2,485 between epidemiological weeks 35 and 38, and the Health Ministry's reporting coverage is around 55%.
Prison watchdog blames lack of medical care for the death of an inmate with HIV and cirrhosis in Zulia
According to Runrunes, the Observatorio Venezolano de Prisiones reported the death of a 68-year-old inmate with HIV and cirrhosis at the Hombre Nuevo Francisco Delgado center, the former El Marite jail, which holds more than 1,100 prisoners and has capacity for 659.
Caracas cancer hospitals have equipment out of service and are booking appointments for 2027
According to Crónica.Uno, the Padre Machado cancer hospital has no mammogram or ultrasound machines and the Razetti has no 2026 slots left: 2027 appointments are handed out after January 15. The Sociedad Anticancerosa projects 9,354 breast cancer diagnoses this year.
Médicos Unidos de Venezuela estimates 30% to 40% of public imaging equipment is out of service
According to Runrunes, pediatrician Huníades Urbina of the Academia Nacional de Medicina cited that report and estimated 70% to 80% of patients pay for their own chemotherapy; the Sociedad Anticancerosa projects 4,080 breast cancer deaths in 2026.
Breast and cervical cancer account for 70% of cancer diagnoses in Venezuelan women
According to TalCual, Luis Ramos, medical director of the Aragua Sociedad Anticancerosa, said breast cancer (40%) and cervical cancer (30%) make up 70% of diagnoses in women; the SAV estimates 15,522 new cases of the two in 2026.
UCLA medical students take third place at the Venezuelan Cardiology Congress with a Chagas study
According to La Prensa de Lara, the team, honored in the free papers category at the October 8 to 10 congress in Margarita, studied 22 seropositive patients from Cubiro, in Jiménez municipality, to identify those at risk of sudden death.
Health Ministry sets up primary care discussion groups with staff and community leaders in three Lara municipalities
According to the Health Ministry, more than 80 people took part in discussion groups in Simón Planas, Morán (Humocaro Bajo) and Iribarren (Santa Rosa) to review links between community committees and clinics and the capacity of the rural outpatient network.
Lara's public health network has almost no ambulances, a former regional health director says
According to La Prensa de Lara, Ruy Medina says Hospital Central should have three to four and has none for transfers; Alberto Domínguez of Stivss says IVSS units sit idle for lack of batteries or tires. A private transfer costs $40 to $60.
Status of health facilities
Each finding carries the date of the story that reports it and says whether it comes from the government or the hospital itself (official data) or from the press, professional associations and patients (independent source). An official announcement does not prove that a service works today.
The country. According to the Encuesta Nacional de Hospitales (National Hospital Survey), as cited by La Prensa de Lara in January 2026, 40% of the country's operating rooms are out of service, 60% of health centers have no medicines and the system is running at about 50% of capacity. We found no survey figures specific to Lara for 2024-2026.[34]
The staff. The Colegio de Médicos de Lara (Lara medical association) said in April 2026 that a resident doctor's base salary is less than two dollars and that doctors depend on the “Bono de Guerra” (war bonus); it also said that more than 3,000 doctors from Lara have emigrated. Health-sector unions cite base salaries of 0.3 cents of a dollar.[23][33]
A warning. A former state health director, Ruy Medina, called the free health care promised by the Constitution a “fiction” in May 2026: in practice, he said, many patients and their families buy the supplies themselves.[15][16]
Cabudare (Palavecino municipality)
Small clinic
Ambulatorio Don Felipe Ponte Hernández
Overall: The Cabudare health center with the most recent improvements, nearly all of them announced by the government. Transparencia Venezuela lists its expansion, begun in 2010, as a project stalled at 60% (undated entry); we could not confirm whether the 2026 work resumed it.[24][25][28]
What works or has improved
According to the Autoridad Única de Salud (state health authority), surgical days (hernias, sterilizations) got under way, initially two days a week, to clear Palavecino's “surgical backlog.”[24]
The heel-prick test, the newborn screening performed on babies, was reinstated.[26]
According to the mayor of Palavecino, the operating wing was ready for a municipal surgery plan after the refurbishment.[25]
What fails
Small clinic
CDI Jacob Villasmit
Overall: Only official information is available: an inspection that reports inpatient care, laboratory and imaging in operation.[29]
What works or has improved
According to the authorities who inspected it, inpatient care, the laboratory and imaging are in operation.[29]
What fails
We found no failures documented in the press in 2025-2026.
Barquisimeto (Iribarren municipality)
Hospital
Hospital Central Universitario Dr. Antonio María Pineda
Overall: New equipment and services, according to the Gobernación (state government), including radiotherapy and operating rooms; the independent press documents a shortage of nurses, failing imaging diagnostics and families who buy their own supplies.[10][13][14][15][16]
What works or has improved
According to the Alcaldía de Iribarren (city hall), it handed over on September 15 the first phase of the refurbishment of the Divina Pastora waiting room, unused for more than ten years: air conditioning, lighting, chairs and restrooms.[35]
According to the Gobernación, 603 patients underwent elective surgery in August 2026: 130 high-complexity, 379 medium-complexity and 94 low-complexity procedures.[13]
According to the Gobernación (state government), the radiotherapy unit reopened after 13 years out of service, as the first public, free service of its kind in Lara, with the goal of treating up to 40 patients a day.[10][11]
According to the Oncology department, chemotherapy runs Monday through Friday with 18 treatment chairs.[12]
What fails
The emergency department's waiting room was still closed three days after the Alcaldía de Iribarren handed over the first phase of its refurbishment: relatives were spending the night on the sidewalk and said they have to buy supplies. The hospital's director had said proposals for the use of the space were under review.[16][35]
A former director of the hospital reported constant breakdowns in CT, MRI, ultrasound and electrocardiogram services, and a shortage of specialists.[15]
The ICU received 10 new beds, but the president of the Colegio de Enfermería de Lara (Lara nursing association) said in March 2026 that only four are in use because there are no nurses.[14]
Relatives of twelve hospital workers (two doctors, an engineer and laborers) allege that they have remained in detention since August 19, 2025, and are calling for justice.[17]
Hospital
Hospital Universitario Pediátrico Dr. Agustín Zubillaga
Overall: Still active as a teaching hospital, but in 2026 it is short 350 nurses and waits in the emergency department reach three hours.[18][19]
What works or has improved
What fails
According to the nurses' association, the hospital is short 350 nurses (the payroll lists 257), and the staff shortage causes waits of up to three hours in the emergency department.[18]
The same association says there are staff willing to work, but the processing of their degrees with the health registry is holding up hiring.[18]
Hospital
Hospital Dr. Pastor Oropeza Riera (IVSS)
Overall: Operating with an undersupplied emergency department and overloaded dialysis; we found no documented improvements in 2025-2026.[21][22]
What works or has improved
We found no improvements documented in the press in 2025-2026.
What fails
According to its director, people injured in motorcycle accidents use up more than 70% of the emergency department's supplies: “we stock the emergency department on Friday, and by Saturday there's nothing left.”[22]
Health-sector unions allege unjustified dismissals and disciplinary proceedings against workers who protested over their wages.[23]
According to the Fundación Amigos del Paciente Renal (Fundaprel), a kidney patients' foundation, some 70 people were waiting for a dialysis slot and most of the machines were broken or repaired only “to get by.”[21]
Small clinic
Ambulatorio Urbano II El Cují
Overall: Reopened in July 2026, according to the Gobernación (state government); there are no independent reports yet on how it is working.[30]
What works or has improved
According to the Gobernación (state government), it was handed over refurbished, with consulting rooms, medical oxygen and compressed air, to serve more than 5,000 people.[30]
What fails
We found no failures documented in the press in 2025-2026.
Small clinic
CDI Manuel Sánchez y CDI César Augusto Díaz
Overall: One is operating and the other is awaiting repairs, according to an inspection by the governor; Lara has 30 CDIs.[31]
What works or has improved
According to the Gobernación (state government), the CDI César Augusto Díaz is operating with ten care areas.[31]
What fails
According to the same inspection, the CDI Manuel Sánchez, which serves some 15,000 residents, is awaiting a technical report before work can begin.[31]
Small clinic
Ambulatorio El Roble
Overall: The latest information dates from 2024: an official refurbishment. There are no more recent reports.[32]
What works or has improved
According to the authorities, it was handed over fully refurbished to serve some 1,500 families.[32]
What fails
We found no failures documented in the press in 2025-2026.
Fundación Higea
Higea in four figures
From Badán to Higea. The foundation was established as Fundación Badán Lara and in 2019 changed its name to Higea, after the Greek goddess of healing. Its founder and honorary president is Dr. Francisco Jonás Mendoza.[4][5][8]
What it is. A nonprofit organization providing preventive and curative medical care, with a special focus on cancer patients. Among its stated goals is maintaining a donation program for those who cannot afford their full treatment.[2]
Where. Its headquarters is on Avenida Vargas at Carrera 31, in Barquisimeto. Its aid also reaches other health centers in the city and in the west-central region.[3][8]
What it offers
Consultations and laboratory
Consultations in several specialties and an automated clinical laboratory specializing in cancer and routine tests.[1]
Pharmacy
The foundation seeks to stock medicines and medical supplies, including cancer drugs, at the lowest possible cost.[1]
Medical training
The Higea group signed a framework agreement with the Universidad Centroccidental Lisandro Alvarado and, as a first step, refurbished two classrooms at the Decanato de Ciencias de la Salud (School of Health Sciences), the Salas H.[9]
Workshops and conferences
It organizes workshops, seminars, symposia and lectures, and supports medical and nursing students and graduates in oncology fields.[1]
Reina Gil de Azuaje's volunteers
Who she is. Educator Reina Gil de Azuaje heads the Voluntariado (volunteer group) of the Fundación Higea. In 2019 El Informador described her as the president of the volunteer group that for 23 years had driven the organization's projects; in 2025 the regional press spoke of more than 25 years of volunteer work under her leadership.[4][7]
What the volunteer group does. It was created to give patients emotional, logistical and financial support. It obtains and hands out free medicines, arranges consultations in internal medicine, gastroenterology, neurology and psychology, and in 2019 carried out the foundation's social work at the Hospital Central Antonio María Pineda, the Anticanceroso (cancer hospital) and the Hospital Militar José Ángel Álamo.[5][7]
Children with cancer. The volunteer group looks after patients' nutrition, especially that of children with cancer, with food, formula and cereals donated from Caracas by the foundation Comparte por una Vida.[5]
Where the money comes from. From its own campaigns and from donors. In 2019 Gil de Azuaje credited support from abroad for a large share of the medicines; in 2021, for example, the NGO Barquisimeto Actívate delivered 250 boxes of a cancer drug for patients to the headquarters.[5][6]
«The volunteer group has a very important task: caring for cancer patients, children and adults, giving them hope for life. Our hope is the color of solidarity, and all patients are welcome here, without distinction.»
«Thanks to the support of generous hearts abroad, we can bring medicine to our patients.»
How the aid is funded
«Apoyar con gusto»
The dinner at which the foundation celebrated its 51st anniversary, on November 4, 2025 at the Hotel Lidotel Barquisimeto, was the twenty-ninth edition: 240 guests and food by chefs Freddy de Freitas and Humberto Arrieti.[8]
Brunch Larense
Two hundred households in Lara bought the «Apoyar con gusto» boxes, filled with products donated by more than 30 brands and small businesses from the region. The volunteers put them together on March 7 and 8.[7]
SolidarizARTE
Teak boards painted by more than 27 visual artists from the region and sold to benefit the foundation. The second edition was shown in 2019 at Espacio Museo; in 2025 it returned as an exhibition alongside the dinner.[4][8]
How to request help
What to bring. In 2021, to donate medicines, the volunteer group asked for the original medical report, the prescription listing the medicines and their doses, and a photocopy of the patient's cédula (national ID card). Requests are submitted at the volunteer group's office at the headquarters.[6]
What it covers. According to what the volunteer group said in 2019, donated medicines are not sold: they are free for anyone who needs them and has a medical report. The group also arranges lab tests, CT scans, biopsies, consultations and supplies for surgery.[5]
Requirements are as published in the press; confirm them by phone before you go.
Foundation contact
- Address
- Av. Vargas con carrera 31, Edif. Fundación Higea, Barquisimeto
- Phone
- (0251) 250.43.70
- (0424) 507.33.72
- Hours
- Monday to Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturdays and holidays, 7:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
- Website
- fundacionhigea.org[1][3]
Health in the press
Health stories from the daily Local and National roundup, linked to the original outlet.
Residents and health workers in La Guaira link rubble dust to a rise in respiratory illness
According to TalCual, the UNDP estimates 2.1 million tons of rubble after the June 24 earthquake; reported pneumonia cases nationwide rose from 2,225 to 2,485 between epidemiological weeks 35 and 38, and the Health Ministry's reporting coverage is around 55%.
Prison watchdog blames lack of medical care for the death of an inmate with HIV and cirrhosis in Zulia
According to Runrunes, the Observatorio Venezolano de Prisiones reported the death of a 68-year-old inmate with HIV and cirrhosis at the Hombre Nuevo Francisco Delgado center, the former El Marite jail, which holds more than 1,100 prisoners and has capacity for 659.
Caracas cancer hospitals have equipment out of service and are booking appointments for 2027
According to Crónica.Uno, the Padre Machado cancer hospital has no mammogram or ultrasound machines and the Razetti has no 2026 slots left: 2027 appointments are handed out after January 15. The Sociedad Anticancerosa projects 9,354 breast cancer diagnoses this year.
Médicos Unidos de Venezuela estimates 30% to 40% of public imaging equipment is out of service
According to Runrunes, pediatrician Huníades Urbina of the Academia Nacional de Medicina cited that report and estimated 70% to 80% of patients pay for their own chemotherapy; the Sociedad Anticancerosa projects 4,080 breast cancer deaths in 2026.
Breast and cervical cancer account for 70% of cancer diagnoses in Venezuelan women
According to TalCual, Luis Ramos, medical director of the Aragua Sociedad Anticancerosa, said breast cancer (40%) and cervical cancer (30%) make up 70% of diagnoses in women; the SAV estimates 15,522 new cases of the two in 2026.
UCLA medical students take third place at the Venezuelan Cardiology Congress with a Chagas study
According to La Prensa de Lara, the team, honored in the free papers category at the October 8 to 10 congress in Margarita, studied 22 seropositive patients from Cubiro, in Jiménez municipality, to identify those at risk of sudden death.
Health section sources
- 1.Fundación Higea, Nuestra misión es la vida (portada).
- 2.Fundación Higea, Sobre la Fundación.
- 3.Fundación Higea, Contacto.
- 4.El Informador, De Badan a Higea, la esperanza continúa (Sep 26, 2019).
- 5.El Informador, Badán Lara ahora se llama Higea (Oct 16, 2019).
- 6.El Impulso, La ONG Barquisimeto Actívate realizó donación a la Fundación Higea Barquisimeto (Jun 17, 2021).
- 7.Cabudare Digital, Más de 800 personas disfrutaron de un Brunch Larense con sabor a solidaridad (Mar 11, 2025).
- 8.El Impulso, Fundación Higea celebra 51 años de servicio con la cena benéfica «Apoyar con gusto» (Nov 2, 2025).
- 9.Cabudare Digital, Higea y UCLA unen fuerzas para fortalecer la educación médica en Barquisimeto (Dec 20, 2024).
- 10.Noticias Barquisimeto, Reabre después de 13 años la Sala de Radioterapia del HCUAMP para combatir el cáncer (Dec 10, 2025).
- 11.El Impulso, Con tecnología de vanguardia: Lara cuenta con servicio de radioterapia en Hospital Central Antonio María Pineda (Dec 10, 2025).
- 12.La Prensa de Lara, Servicio de Oncología del Hospital Central de Barquisimeto activará equipos de alta tecnología (Aug 27, 2025).
- 13.Gobernación de Lara, HCUAMP atendió a 603 pacientes mediante cirugías electivas durante agosto (undated on the page; released Sep 15, 2026).
- 14.Costa del Sol 93.1 FM, Los centros hospitalarios de Lara presentan un déficit de enfermeras especialistas (Mar 9, 2026).
- 15.El Impulso, Crisis hospitalaria en Lara: Dr. Ruy Medina advierte colapso por bajos sueldos y falta de insumos (May 11, 2026).
- 16.Noticias Barquisimeto, «Necesitamos la sala de espera»: el clamor de los familiares a las afueras de la Emergencia del HCUAMP (Sep 18, 2026).
- 17.El Impulso, Familiares de trabajadores detenidos en el HCAMP exigen justicia tras seis meses de detención (Feb 10, 2026).
- 18.El Informador, Déficit de 350 enfermeras en el Hospital Pediátrico de Barquisimeto compromete la atención inmediata (May 4, 2026).
- 19.El Impulso, Hospital Pediátrico Agustín Zubillaga arriba a 44 años de servicio en Lara (May 14, 2026).
- 20.Noticias Barquisimeto, Avanza con éxito la sustitución de sistema de tuberías en el HUPAZ (Jun 26, 2024).
- 21.El Informador, Déficit en Barquisimeto: 70 pacientes esperan un cupo de diálisis en el Pastor Oropeza (Nov 14, 2025).
- 22.El Informador, «Politraumatizados por accidentes de motos consumen el 70% de los insumos», alerta director del Pastor Oropeza (Mar 19, 2026).
- 23.El Impulso, Sindicatos y gremios de salud en Lara exigen justicia laboral, salarios dignos y libertad para dirigentes presos (Feb 12, 2026).
- 24.Cabudare Digital, Activaron jornadas quirúrgicas en el Ambulatorio «Don Felipe Ponte Hernández» de Cabudare (Aug 4, 2026).
- 25.Notiprensa Digital, Palavecino contará con plan quirúrgico en el ambulatorio de Cabudare (Jun 12, 2026).
- 26.La Prensa de Lara, Reactivan prueba del talón en dos ambulatorios de Lara (Jun 22, 2026).
- 27.Noticias Barquisimeto, Inauguran nuevos espacios en el Ambulatorio de Cabudare (Dec 26, 2024).
- 28.Transparencia Venezuela, Obras inconclusas: Ampliación del Ambulatorio de Cabudare (undated listing).
- 29.Cabudare Digital, Autoridades inspeccionaron Ambulatorio de Cabudare y CDI de Agua Viva (Feb 28, 2026).
- 30.Noticias Barquisimeto, Más de 5.000 personas se beneficiarán con la reapertura del Ambulatorio Urbano II El Cují (Jul 30, 2026).
- 31.Noticias Barquisimeto, Gobernador Reyes Reyes efectuó inspección técnica a CDI y consultorios médicos de distintas parroquias (May 6, 2026).
- 32.Noticias Barquisimeto, Entregan totalmente rehabilitado el Ambulatorio del Roble al sur de Barquisimeto (Jul 25, 2024).
- 33.El Informador, Médicos residentes en Lara cobran menos de $2 de sueldo y dependen del «Bono de Guerra» para sobrevivir (Apr 30, 2026).
- 34.La Prensa de Lara, Hospitales en Venezuela: un sistema que opera al 50% de su capacidad (Jan 21, 2026).
- 35.Noticias Barquisimeto (Prensa Alcaldía de Iribarren), Alcalde Yanys Agüero entrega la primera etapa de rehabilitación de la sala de espera Divina Pastora del HCAMP (Sep 15, 2026).