The Mayor of Arrecife, Yonathan de León Machín, participated yesterday, Saturday, in a tribute and farewell event for Dr María Concepción Pérez González, who has served as the paediatrician for thousands of families in Arrecife and throughout the island of Lanzarote for over forty years. Known affectionately as Dr Conce since her arrival on the island in 1980, she completed her medical career this past spring at the Doctor Molina Orosa University Hospital in the capital of Lanzarote.
Dr Conce’s Career
Dr Conce Pérez arrived in Lanzarote in 1980, developing her vocation as a paediatrician from the outset. She worked at the now-defunct Nuestra Señora de los Volcanes Health Residence, located in the former Casa del Mar, which currently houses the Valterra Health Centre. This past spring, she retired as the head of the Paediatrics Service at the Doctor Molina Orosa University Hospital in Lanzarote.
A Fond Farewell
After more than four decades of dedication and leadership, Dr Conce Pérez received a well-deserved tribute and farewell this weekend. Surrounded by family, who had travelled specifically to support her, she was also recognised by colleagues, friends, and the Mayor of Lanzarote, Yonathan de León, who had received a special invitation from the doctor. He expressed the gratitude of the families across the island, including his own, for her longstanding service. The event, held at a restaurant in Puerto del Carmen, was filled with affection, applause, and admiration for Dr Conce.
Connection to Medicine and Politics
Dr Conce Pérez began her medical career at the Lanzarote Health Management in 1980. Although she temporarily stepped away from medicine to explore a political vocation—starting in 1995 as a councillor in Arrecife for the PP in the areas of Environment and Tourism, and later becoming a councillor at the Cabildo de Lanzarote, where she also served as the PP spokesperson and held the position of general director in the Government of the Canary Islands—she always maintained a strong connection to her passion for medicine and paediatrics. As the Mayor noted during the tribute, she built an exceptional team that supported and guided families with young patients, dedicating herself in a way that made a lasting impact, as was evident during the farewell event.
Legacy in Paediatrics
The Mayor joined in the recognition of Dr Conce, and during his speech, she was surrounded by her son Miguel, who has now followed in her footsteps as a paediatrician in Lanzarote since this September, and her younger daughter Sara, who is engaged in teaching. Alongside the Mayor were many of Dr Conce’s professional colleagues, friends, siblings, and families who have relied on her unwavering service as a paediatrician over the past four decades, further strengthening paediatric healthcare in Lanzarote.
