A Doctors Quest
Dr. Oriel McLean was born in Panama City, Panama, on June 4, 1974. He went to Medical School at the Universidad de Ciencias Medicas UCIMED in San José, Costa Rica. He completed studies in 1998, then continued in the Republic of Panama for his board certification until 2001. His medical suitability enables him to practice medicine both in Panama and Costa Rica.
His father worked at the U.S. military bases in the Panama Canal, this allowed him to accompany his father to both his work area and military bases which gave him great interest for everything related to the American Military. In 1989 during the American intervention of Panama. Dr. McLean a teenager at the time witnessed US Forces engaged in combat. He knew they were fighting to free his country. This memory has always stayed with him, and it is one of the driving forces of why he treats veterans today.
Dr. McLean for 15 years has been organized with a group of collaborators both in Panama and Costa Rica who are responsible for providing all essential medical services, including general and specialized medical consultation, nursing services, surgeries, hospitalizations, psychology counseling, pharmacy, durable medical equipment and other medical services. Based on his experience during these years and as time goes by, he has observed that many of these veterans do not have extensive health coverage, since medical insurance is very limited for those living outside the United States, many do not have the sufficient economic capacity to cover their medical expenses thus experiencing serious health problems or fatalities that could have been avoided. In 2004, his need to help these veterans, first gave him this idea. It has been identified that 17,000 U.S. Veterans in Costa Rica are being underserved medically.