Damien House is a residential hospital for over 60 patients suffering from Hansen’s Disease (leprosy) located in Guayaquil, Ecuador.  The hospital also treats a roster of around 700 outpatients. Quality medical care is provided seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. With the help of donations to the US-based Damien House organization, the staff is also able to provide patients with dental care, physical therapy, sanitary services, medication, and three well-balanced hot meals every day. Additionally, Damien House has a community outreach program that helps those who have been treated and cured to secure a home, find work, and participate in community activities so that they may return to living full lives.

The work of Damien House extends far beyond the hospital’s walls. The staff makes regular visits within Guayaquil and in remote villages, providing public education about the cause and curability of Hansen’s Disease and spreading optimism for its eventual elimination.

Sr. Annie Credidio, BVM, originally from Brooklyn, New York (with the accent to prove it!), has lived and worked in Ecuador for more than 25 years.  Originally she ministered as a grade school teacher.  Eventually she become aware of patients suffering in an infectious disease wing of a local Guayaquil hospital and began working to establish a better situation for these men and women.  Approximately 20 years ago she founded Damien House, named after the recently named Saint Damien, a Dutch native who served those with Hansen’s Disease (leprosy) in Hawaii.  Throughout the years Sr. Annie and the staff at Damien House have worked to provide patients with a safe and positive place to become health and if possible, leave the hospital to continue on life as the knew it.  Sr. Annie has spoken around the U.S. about her work at Damien House.

Click here to listen to Sr. Annie speak about her work at Damien House with Chicago Public Radio last April.