Pediatric Hospital Inaugurated in Villa Altagracia

Pediatric Hospital Inaugurated in Villa Altagracia
Villa Altagracia, San Cristóbal Province, Dominican Republic 1/28/2012

Boys and girls from this zone will receive friendly, humane and professional treatment with the most modern equipment available at the new Pediatric Emergency wing of the Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia Municipal Hospital.

“Among these projects is the innovative Pediatric Emergency Program through which we are building children’s emergency rooms in public hospitals to make sure that children of families with limited financial resources will receive quality, fast and trustworthy medical attention…”

Inaugurated by the First Lady, Margarita Cedeño de Fernández, the hospital also remodeled the existing pediatric wing, administrative offices and has redesigned the interior patio of the hospital.

Speaking at the opening of the new children’s emergency center, Margarita Cedeño de Fernández said she was convinced that the development of young children depends on the quality of medical attention they receive in order to grow up healthy and develop their full potential.  She added that from the Office of the First Lady, they are undertaking projects to guarantee quality health and educational services that will strengthen the healthy growth of the nation’s children.

“Among these projects is the innovative Pediatric Emergency Program through which we are building children’s emergency rooms in public hospitals to make sure that children of families with limited financial resources will receive quality, fast and trustworthy medical attention so that our Dominican mothers can have the security and relief in knowing that these services are available when unexpected moment arise when the health of their most prized treasures, their children, is at stake,” said the First Lady.
 
This pediatric emergency room was designed, built and equipped to specifically deal with emergencies with children living in Villa Altagracia and the surrounding areas, all of who will receive humane, friendly and high quality attention in a hospital that is equipped with the most modern equipment.

Hospital Director, Antonio Mercedes, thanked the First Lady for the construction of this wing that will benefit the children of Villa Altagracia and the surrounding areas.

The building of this pediatric center came at a cost of $6,931,542.50 Dominican pesos. To raise the money, the Office of the First Lady (DPD in Spanish) was helped through economic support from the government of the Republic of China, Taiwan. This DPD project at the hospital covered an area of 743 square meters, which included the building of the emergency room and the remodeling of the pediatric wing, administration offices and the renovation of the interior patio and green area.

The Pediatric Emergency room has several specialized areas including four hydration cubicles, specially equipped breathing treatment areas, waiting rooms, suture areas, work stations and rooms for doctors and other such rooms for nurses in addition to other hospital facilities.

From the beginning of her time in the DPD, the First Lady has built pediatric emergency rooms in hospitals around the country in an effort to reduce infant mortality and to provide adequate medical services for children of lower income and poor families.

Up until now, pediatric emergency rooms of this type have been built in the following hospitals:  the Armed Forces Central Hospital, Dr. Moscoso Puello Hospital, the Engombe Municipal Hospital, the Dr. Ramón de Lara Engombe Hospital, the Dr. Darío Contreras Hospital, Dr. Robert Reid Cabral Hospital, the provincial Dr. Pascasio Toribio Hospital, in the town of Salcedo, province of the Mirabal Sisters and the Mothers and Children’s Hospital of Boca Chica, in the District Municipality of San Andrés.

These centers have also been built in the Municipal Hospital of Yamasá, the Ricardo Limardo Hospital of Puerto Plata, the Municipal Hospital of Castillo, in the province of Duarte, the Taiwan March 19 Hospital in Azua, and in the Hospital Pedro E. Marchena Hospital  of Bonao, in the Monseñor Noel province.