BETHANY – Medical Clinic

Dr. Cret graduated from medical school in 1992 and began his medical career as a doctor in a small rural medical clinic near Alesd.  He strove to be a consummate professional, make proper diagonoses, and offer necessary treatment.  He held a  strong belief that the Romanian health care system needed major improvements. 

One day, while watching people enter a boutique in his neighborhood, he envisioned his own medical center located in the same location. He shared this idea with his wife, Livia Cret, a pediatrician. However, it remained a dream.

In 1994, the boutique went bankrupt, and the city administration decided to sell the location. The dream came alive. With support from family and friends, Dr. Cret bought the place and all the necessary equipment required for a medical center.

The only people working in the medical center in the beginning were the Crets and a nurse.  The center barely broke even.  However, the number of patients eventually increased, and the doctors now treat around 80-100 patients daily.

Dr. Cret and his wife offered only pediatric care and ultrasound services at first.  They eventually invested in state-of-the-art equipment allowing them to expand their range of diagnosis and treatment.

They anticipated some potential patients would be unable to afford the services provided, so they decided to offer them discounts or charge them nothing.  Many skeptics said, “The profitability of the business will suffer if the number of non-paying patients increases.”  The Crets were more than happy to prove them wrong.  The medical center now has seven full-time employees including a biologist, a chemist, and a laboratory technician.  “Our clients are extremely satisfied as they get the investigation results, the diagnosis and the necessary medication the same day,” Dr. Cret says.  Betania customers are given free medication provided by donations from foreign not-for-profit organizations.

This is just the beginning for the Crets. “We are planning to have a polyclinic, which will hire more doctors and offer more medical services”, Dr. Cret says. With ROMCOM's support, he will develop a viable strategy for this project and explore financing options for a new location.

His motto, “good diagnosis, good medication”, is a strong incentive to continually improve the services he provides, as well as to enhance his team’s competence.