The San Gabriel Hospital was inaugurated in 1983 as a health care institution for the poorest communities in La Paz, offering health care services to all in need, regardless of their income. The attention provided to these people was completely financed by donations. However, in the late 90s the stream of donations began to dry up and the hospital started having financial problems. Hence, Dr. Lieselotte Bauer de Barragán changed the hospital's model and started charging for medical services. To maintain the hospital's social commitment, however, the fees were set at a very low price point. This enabled the hospital to run its operations sustainably, but it was not enough to cover any investment in infrastructure or medical equipment. Dr. Lieselotte Bauer de Barragán traveled to Germany and proposed the establishment of an organization that would support the San Gabriel Hospital financially, so it could make necessary investments to maintain the hospital's service quality. The founder’s sister Ingrid Classen-Bauer and her husband Joachim Classen made this task their own. In 2003 they founded the nonprofit association “San Gabriel” or “Hilfe für das Lehrkrankenhaus “San Gabriel” in La Paz Bolivien” in Hamburg, Germany. Since then the association has been funding projects for the hospital.