DR. JOSÉ A. VARGAS VIDOT

Founder

Dr. José A. Vargas Vidot completed his high school and pre-medical studies at the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico. In 1986, he received his medical degree from the Eugenio María de Hostos University School of Medicine in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Near the end of the 1980’s, Vargas Vidot worked for the public health system, in the Immunology Center of the Family Health Center in Cataño. From 1986 to 1991, he worked as coordinator of experimental clinical trials, collaborated with the Office for AIDS Affairs, and also was part of a research program destined to define the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Puerto Rico. This experience marked the beginning of his transformation from doctor to public health specialist.

In 1990, Vargas Vidot and a group of HIV/AIDS patients from the community created a project to educate other HIV/AIDS patients about non-traditional treatment alternatives. This experience changed his life and laid the foundation for the organization we know today, Iniciativa Comunitaria de Investigación. More than 20 years after its establishment, Iniciativa Comunitaria and Dr. Vargas Vidot, together with an extraordinary team of passionate individuals and volunteers, continue to drive and promote inclusive, transformational, community-oriented public policy geared towards attaining quality of life and a healthy peaceful coexistence, particularly for individuals that suffer social exclusion.

His commitment to education and community service has been a constant throughout his life. He has served on many boards, executive and advisory committees in organizations such as Pro Family Movement, the Refuge Rehab House, the Violence Prevention Commission (COPREVI, by its Spanish acronym), Puerto Rico Department of State’s Advisory Committee on Bioethics, Pro-Patients Movement, Alliance for a New Humanity, and Maternal Infant Studies Center (CEMI, by its Spanish acronym), among many others.

Chaco, as Vargas Vidot is affectionately called, and his healthcare work based on solidarity has transcended local efforts with the formation of Peace Initiatives: International Health Brigades in 2000. This international, humanitarian health promotion program is brought to distressed communities such as Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Haiti, where health centers have been established and are administered by local residents.

As an educator and fervent advocate for social justice, he has published in countless newspapers and journals. But one of his most significant contributions to public health has been his dedicated service as a university professor in various higher education institutions in Puerto Rico.  His teaching at the University of Puerto Rico School of Dental Medicine, the University of Puerto Rico School of Pharmacy, the Central University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, the Interamerican University and the University of Puerto Rico Cayey Campus, has inspired hundreds of students to participate in health education and health promotion efforts at local and international levels.  As a result of his work, he has received many honors and awards, including six honorary doctorates.

Leading by example, Vargas Vidot invites us to open our hearts to solidarity and compassion, to embrace the challenge and cultivate hope to improve Puerto Rico’s quality of life.