Dr. Daniel Weber ’76 has always had a love for language. 

Conversations are peppered with Afghani, Greek, Spanish and Ukrainian as Weber recalls the many medical professionals he has mentored over a 30-plus year career as an obstetrician/gynecologist.

It wasn’t until Weber participated in an F&M student summer course in 2016 – “F&M in Cuba” – that he realized he could merge his passion with his profession. Partnering with the Literacy Council of Lancaster, Weber founded the Latin American Doctors Association. It has since evolved into the International Healthcare Professionals Program (IHPP) to reflect a broader participant base.

“Applying for residency from another country – no matter how incredible your curriculum vitae is – is incredibly hard,” said Weber, citing both linguistic and bureaucratic barriers. 

Dr. Daniel Weber ’76 meets with class participants at the International Healthcare Professionals Program headquarters at the Literacy Council of Lancaster. (Photo by Deb Grove)

He observed Cuba’s strong tradition of outsourcing skilled individuals to countries in need of medical services, but it was not without complexity under the tumultuous Castro regime.

In 2006, a window opened to bring more medical professionals to the United States. The Cuban Medical Professional Parole program enabled health care providers who were conscripted by the Cuban government to study or work in another county to apply to enter the U.S. 

Lancaster welcomed many of those professionals, aided greatly by Church World Service’s immigration and refugee initiatives.   

“Lancaster was one of eight cities in the United States that were welcoming thousands of international physicians," Weber said. 

"Lancaster was one of eight cities in the United States that were welcoming thousands of international physicians."

Dr. Daniel Weber '76

A Serendipitous Mentor Meeting

F&M graduate Amy Largacha Cedeno ’19 first met Weber on a bus during the 2016 F&M course in Cuba. By the end of their travels, a mentorship forged between the doctor and first-generation college student. She soon became IHPP’s first intern. 

“When it came time to apply to law school, I knew he was going to be one of the people writing a letter of recommendation,” Largacha Cedeno said of Weber. 

An immigrant herself, she understood the language barriers faced by IHPP participants. 

“I didn't speak English when I first moved here. Neither did my parents and my whole community,” said Largacha Cedeno, who moved to the Bronx from Ecuador at age 11. 

“I've always had an interest – even more so now as a professional and lawyer – to find a way to pay it forward and stay engaged in the immigrant community,” she said. 

Now a first-year attorney, Largacha Cedeno reflects fondly on IHPP and the ways it prepared her for the rigors of a legal career. Her fiance (and fellow volunteer) Jonathan Pesantez ’19 is now a fourth-year medical student at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University. 

The couple married in June, and Weber was among the first to receive an invitation.

Amy Largacha Cedeno ’19 completes research with Professor of Government Stephanie McNulty in this 2017 photo. (Photo by Deb Grove)

IHPP By the Numbers

Since its inception in 2016, IHPP has served over 100 international health care professionals, including doctors, nurses and dentists. IHPP scholars have come from 15 nations and speak more than 20 languages combined. The most recent physicians have arrived from Afghanistan, Cuba, Turkey and Ukraine, bringing expertise in infectious diseases, trauma and more. 

“Wherever there's trouble in the world, I know that shortly thereafter, we need to be ready to welcome them,” Weber said. 

What began as a weekly medical ESL class with Cuban doctors has steadily grown into much more. IHPP now offers mock job interviews and assistance with residency and applications. 

Weber dreams of expanding IHPP beyond Pennsylvania and helping health care professionals bring their skills and goals to areas of the country with the most need.

"Wherever there's trouble in the world, I know that shortly thereafter, we need to be ready to welcome them."

Dr. Daniel Weber '76

A Love for Language

Where did the doctor’s love for language begin?

“Growing up in New York City, if I ran an errand from my mom at the grocery store, so many of the owners could speak every language. Italian, Spanish, Yiddish… They were so multilingual,” Weber said.  

As a young boy in Brooklyn, Weber dreamed of practicing medicine in small-town New England. He landed fairly close, in Central Pennsylvania.

“I had heard that Franklin & Marshall was very good for people who want to be doctors,” Weber recalls. “It was outside of the big city. It looked like a different version of that little town in New England that I wanted to be a doctor in.”

While accepted into medical school in France, Weber instead opted for the Autonomous University of Guadalajara in Mexico. He reflects fondly on staying with “La familia Finkelstein,” his Jewish host parents who fled Eastern Europe shortly before World War II and landed in Mexico when denied entry into the U.S. 

Weber has mentored countless students and health field professionals, but he is quick to deflect attention to IHPP volunteers like Largacha Cedeno and Anne Stachura, teaching professor of Spanish and coordinator of community-based learning at F&M.

“Having a volunteer who looks up to you, respects you, asks questions about your education and about your family, who believes in you… The magic in this whole thing is the volunteers,” he said.  

Five current pathway programs make up the heart of the International Healthcare Professionals Program:

1. Registered Nurse (RN) pathway: 22 IHPP scholars have received bachelor of science in nursing degrees from Penn State Harrisburg. Ten are currently enrolled in certified registered nurse practitioner programs locally.
2. Physician pathway: Ten physician scholars are currently in medical residency programs. Others have passed the U.S. medical licensing and English proficiency exams and will enroll in residency matches; one has been pre-matched. 
3. Medical interpreter pathway: More than 20 scholars have completed Core Medical Interpreter Training (CMIT) training, a 100-hour program. One scholar has received national Medical Interpreter Certification, the most prestigious credentials available in the field of medical interpreting.  
4. Simulation medicine pathway: Two physicians are currently enrolled in a one-year fellowship at the Penn State College of Medicine Clinical Simulation Center.
5. U.S. citizenship pathway: Dozens of IHPP scholars are now proud U.S. citizens.

Want to learn more about the International Healthcare Professionals Program?

Contact Cheryl Hiester cheryl@literacysuccess.org