Jose Roberto Orellana, MD

At Sanitas, our patients get the highest caliber of care. Though I’m most comfortable speaking English, I also speak Spanish and Portuguese. It’s satisfying when I help a patient feel better, but the special days are when a patient tells me that I’ve made a difference, not as a doctor, but as a human being. These "luminous vignettes" stay with me, whether from medical residency days or now.  

I was born in Honduras, the oldest of four siblings, and due to political and economic problems, I came to the U.S. with my family when I was 12. My grandfather used to tell stories about our forefathers and the customs and heritage they left for future generations. After school, I would take the bus to the hospital to wait for my mother, an obstetric nurse. Sometimes, doctors would talk to me and take me to see patients. The hospital became my second home and it paved the way for me to become a doctor. 

I enjoy traveling to countries like Guatemala and Mexico with their unparalleled natural beauty and gorgeous landscapes. The inspiration for me to write poems and stories comes from enjoying distinguished authors like Pablo Neruda, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Jorge Luis Borges, and painters like Diego Rivera and Fernando Botero.