Jill Biden visits the same children’s hospital in Costa Rica that John F. Kennedy visited in 1963 as the first lady celebrates a new cancer partnership
- The visit came as Jill Biden wraps up the Goodwill Tour in Latin America
- Kennedy visited the National Children’s Hospital of Costa Rica and wrote a personal check to purchase equipment for the hospital
- Biden celebrated a new partnership between US hospitals and Costa Rica’s hospital to fight childhood cancer
- “No country can beat cancer alone. We all have to work harder,” she said
- She also unveiled a mural donated to the hospital to symbolize the relationship between the United States and Costa Rica
Following in John F. Kennedy’s footsteps, Jill Biden visited the National Children’s Hospital of Costa Rica on Sunday, where she celebrated a new partnership to fight childhood cancer.
Kennedy was the first US President to visit Costa Rica, which he did in 1963, writing a personal check to purchase equipment for the hospital.
Biden was in the hospital to highlight the new US-Costa Rica collaboration.
“No country can beat cancer alone. We all have to work harder,” she said.
“President Kennedy once said that children are our most precious resource… And he was right. We have an obligation to take care of our children,” she added.
Jill Biden followed in the footsteps of John F. Kennedy and attended Costa Rica’s National Children’s Hospital
At the hospital, Costa Rican First Lady Signe Zeicate (left back row), US Ambassador to Costa Rica Cynthia Telles (center left back row) and Jill Biden (center center, back row) celebrated a new partnership to fight childhood cancer
“No country can beat cancer alone. We all have to work harder,” Jill Biden said
President John F. Kennedy wrote a personal check to purchase equipment for the National Children’s Hospital during his 1963 visit to Costa Rica
She celebrated a partnership between the Costa Rican Health Authority and the University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia that will provide children in Costa Rica with access to life-saving cancer treatment.
Cancer is a personal concern for Biden, whose son Beau died of brain cancer in 2015. After Joe and Jill Biden left the vice presidency, they formed Cancer Moonshot to help fight the disease.
The matter remains close to both.
Biden was accompanied on the visit by Costa Rican First Lady Signe Zeicate and US Ambassador to Costa Rica Cynthia Telles, whose father was US Ambassador to Costa Rica during JFK’s visit.
“It’s important to note that the First Lady’s visit to Costa Rica was the catalyst for the completion of the agreement,” said Ambassador Telles, noting that her mother helped raise money for the hospital when her father was ambassador.
Telles noted that both Bidens were “committed to finding a cure for cancer even before the Cancer Moonshot launched in 2016.”
US First Lady Jill Biden and Costa Rica’s First Lady Signe Zeicate at the National Children’s Hospital
Jill Biden unveiled a mural donated to the hospital to symbolize the relationship between the United States and Costa Rica
Costa Rican First Lady Signe Zeicate and Jill Biden flank the new mural; Biden stands next to the artist who created it
John F. Kennedy was the first US President to visit Costa Rica
Biden also unveiled a mural donated to the hospital by the United States government to symbolize the relationship between the two countries.
“There’s a lot of evidence of this relationship,” Telles said.
“Oh my god,” Biden said when she saw it. ‘It is so beautiful.’
It’s very colorful and shows people sharing food and drink with animals – like toucans and sloths – that are native to Costa Rica.
“Today, Ambassador Telles donated a painting to the hospital with a plaque that reads: Commemorating the visit of the First Lady of the United States, Dr. Jill Biden, and recognizing the contributions of US Ambassador Raymond Telles and Delfina Telles to the Nacional de Niños Hospital. May 22, 2022,” the east wing said.
In 1963, Kennedy was in Costa Rica to meet with the presidents of six Latin American countries. The visit took place during the tenure of former US Ambassador Raymond Telles, father of current US Ambassador Cynthia Telles.
Biden is on the final leg of a three-country goodwill tour to Latin America. She returns to the United States on Monday.