As part of the continuing efforts to improve life for people in rural areas, the “Centro de Educacion para la Salud Integral” (ILAC) brought in 25 doctors from Italy and the United States to assist hundreds of rural residents with major health problems. During the latest effort, the doctors operated on over 100 people with hernias. During the medical sessions that took place in Mao and the mountainous regions of the Cordillera Central, over 2,400 people were seen by the doctors. During the first stage, 1300 people came to be examined, and during the second stage 1,500 more were seen. For two months, teams of urologists, ophthalmologists, cardiologists and pediatricians have offered their services to treat patients in the poorest areas. As emphasized by Radhames Pena, one of the conditions for receiving an operation is that the person does not have economic resources. Besides assisting the patients themselves, the foreign medical teams also advised local medical staff on the latest techniques. The University Regional Hospital Cabral y Baez and the Estrella Urena Social Security Hospital are two of the centers that are most involved in the program.