 |
 |
||
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
 |
|||
 |
 |
||
 |
|||
 |
 |
||
 |
|||
 |
 |
||
 |
|||
 |
 |
||
 |
|||
 |
 |
||
 |
|||
A humanitarian devoted to children and his community makes a lasting impression.
by John Graff
To be in the presence of Dr. Roberto Ortiz is to learn what it really means to be a living legend. A few years ago, my wife and I accompanied Dr. Ortiz and his wife, Ligia, on a drive from San José to a vacation home on the Pacific Ocean. Everywhere we went his name was known and he was greeted as a friend—in small villages along the way, in the farm country where he raises dairy cattle, and in the huge agricultural cooperative to which he has given much support and leadership over the years.
Ortiz is known so far and wide that even a park ranger in another town recognized him before he personally escorted him into a national park. He is a man known to presidents and popes, but even more so by everyday Costa Ricans.
In his community and in several industries, Ortiz, who has a loving wife and four children, has improved the quality of life for many people. He has facilitated the import of certain foods and other goods, he has made technological strides in the dairy industry, he was instrumental in establishing Costa Rica’s social security system, and, most important, he has focused on improving heart surgery for children. According to Ortiz’s daughter, Melania, the doctor’s kindheartedness comes easy and was instilled in him at a young age.
“His mother died when he was a young man, and before she died, her request to him was that he be useful to society,” says Melania. “He had already planned to be a doctor, and he was fond of children, so he was already thinking about that. And he was very focused. So his mother’s influence was very strong on him; it had a big impact on how he lived his life.”
Ortiz graduated as medical doctor and surgeon from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in 1949 and eventually made his way to renowned institutions in the United States, including the Children’s Hospital in Boston and the Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, where he was a specialist in children’s heart surgery in the mid-1950s. He has also held positions as a medical assistant at the Red Cross Hospital in Mexico and as an intern at the Hospital San Juan de Dios in San José, Costa Rica.
Prior to his retirement in the late 1990s, when he suffered a stroke, Ortiz had achieved status as both a pediatric surgeon and the builder and hands-on guiding spirit of Parque de Diversiones, a popular amusement park in the capital city of San José. In both of these capacities he has generously served the children of Costa Rica.
One of the hallmarks of his dedication was the inception of the National Children’s Hospital, which required total devotion to get off the ground. After his internship at the Hospital San Juan de Dios, Roberto spent his time leading the promotion and fund raising of the new hospital through the Asociación Pro-Hospital Nacional de Niños, of which he is currently the honorary president.
This was no easy feat. Finding funds for a children’s hospital in a poor country proved difficult. But Ortiz demonstrated a measure of commitment and a tenacity that characterized his general approach to problem solving. The hospital eventually received a badly needed infusion of funds when, in March 1963, President John Kennedy visited Costa Rica and the hospital. Kennedy was so impressed with Dr. Ortiz’s determination that he made a substantial personal contribution that allowed the project to come to fruition in 1964.
From 1964 to 1984 Ortiz worked as the head of surgery at the new hospital, where he performed more than 27,000 surgeries. His skill and intellect as a surgeon and teacher have earned him an international reputation.
“He was very interested in improving the heart surgery in Costa Rica, especially children’s heart surgery,” Melania says. “Also he was very fond of being able to keep a very high standard for the doctors in the hospitals here. He also sent other doctors to the United States to study and to gain further education.”
During the 1970s, his efforts took him all over the world educating hospital staff about excellence in providing hospital services. He also traveled as an observer, learning about the methods of integral administration systems for hospitals. Tangible proof of such dedication—honorary degrees and awards from universities and organizations worldwide—is displayed on the walls of his home office.
As the hospital improved the lives of children in Costa Rica, a lack of adequate financial resources continued to be a problem, preventing the hospital from realizing the potential Ortiz saw in it. So he started an annual event called the Flower Fair, which hosted representatives from other countries who would bring imported goods that were hard to come by in Costa Rica.
At the fair, they were sold to Costa Ricans tax free. “Embassies took part, people set up stands, it was very nice. And all money raised went to the hospital,” Melania says. When the fair ended, he found another way to alleviate the financial woes the hospital was suffering: He decided to build an amusement park whose purpose would be to fund the hospital. The idea was not met with universal enthusiasm. Skeptics pointed out that the people of the country were very poor and that such a park could become a severe drain on resources needed for the hospital.
Ortiz saw the situation differently. A successful park could provide badly needed funds to the hospital, he believed. But what’s more, Ortiz believed such an endeavor could make a significant contribution to the physical and emotional welfare of children.
Once again, Ortiz drew on his self-confidence and his ability to inspire others with his vision. Parque de Diversiones opened on December 18, 1981, and to this day it is operated by the Asociación Pro-Hospital Nacional de Niños—the Children’s Hospital Association. During his 20-year term as president of the association, Ortiz provided active and continuous leadership to the park and its staff, in addition to carrying on his practice of medicine.
Ortiz also saw the park as an important repository for the country’s history and traditions. He was successful in raising the funds necessary to create a themed area, called Pueblo Antiguo, that features the life and culture of the country during the late 19th century. He believed that the capital expenditures necessary to complete the project would lead to an increase in attendance and income, thereby generating more and more funds to donate to the hospital. And in Ortiz’s view, this project would enrich the country by celebrating its history and culture.
The park and Pueblo Antiguo have gained such a positive profile in the industry that it was the site of the IAAPA Executive Finance Committee meeting in 1997. On another occasion, in 2000, President and Mrs. Jimmy Carter paid a visit.
The park’s contributions to the Children’s Hospital have averaged $300,000 a year, justifying Ortiz’s gut feeling about opening it. Nonetheless, the economy and demographics of the country have made operating a financially successful park a continuing challenge. An average of 800,000 people visit the park each year, and that number includes the visitors with free tickets distributed to low-income schools, special institutions, and disabled and elderly people. This generous policy is part and parcel of his belief that providing happiness can be a form of medicine for ailing children.
Though a recent series of strokes has left him unable to carry on an active role in running the park, Ortiz is still engaged in soliciting support for the park. Most recently, he personally secured funding for a new water attraction. While raising funds for a project, he and his staff have never been ashamed to knock on anybody’s door and ask for support. “He was as hardworking as anyone who worked for him,” says Melania. “People respected him for that.”
The range of Dr. Ortiz’s interests and commitment is not limited to medicine and the amusement park. While in Chicago, he became interested in the Wisconsin dairy farms and the various cattle and technology that were being used. Upon his return to Costa Rica, he introduced the Holstein breed to Costa Rica when he imported a herd of them to his own dairy farm. He has also been an advocate for and promoter of the country’s largest agricultural cooperative, which today sells products throughout South America and in the Southern United States.
In 2003 IAAPA recognized Dr. Ortiz’s contribution to the industry by inducting him into the IAAPA Hall of Fame. Dr. Ortiz was too ill to attend the induction but in a letter to the IAAPA Board of Directors he expressed his appreciation and urged everyone to seize the opportunities they have to promote well-being, friendship, and peace in their parks. Those are virtues Ortiz himself is quite familiar with. To this day, he receives expressions of gratitude for his good deeds. For example, nearly 30 years ago he performed a complicated procedure on an infant with a heart condition. Years later, as an adult, that patient sought Ortiz out to thank him.
It comes as no surprise to Ortiz’s family that he has achieved so much. He is a hardworking man, yes, but it’s also his personality coupled with his unwavering devotion that have won him the respect and love of so many, including his daughter Melania.
“He has two sides. He can be very jolly and speak in a very informal way that people like. But he is also very disciplined. He is a strict man, very demanding of himself and those who worked for him. He demanded the highest standards, and he got that from people.”
Following in Dr. Ortiz’s footsteps
The Children’s Hospital of Costa Rica Foundation receives financial contributions and in-kind park and hospital equipment donations to continue upgrading the park and the hospital. If you’re interested in making a tax-deductible donation, please write to Parque General Manager Mario Caterinella, P.O. Box 730-1150, La Uruca, San Jose, Costa Rica; tel: + 506/231-2001.
