Santo Domingo. – President Luis Abinader began this Saturday the transformation and rehabilitation works of the old building of the Regional Hospital Doctor Marcelino Vélez Santana, which will be converted into a modern Maternal and Child Unit.
The president was accompanied by the director of the National Health Service (SNS), Dr. Mario Lama, who explained that for the intervention of the health facility, the institution will allocate a budget of RD$477,121,064.92. in infrastructure and RD$140,577,181.11 in equipment.
The four-level building will have 59 hospitalization beds, 36 consulting rooms, an X-Ray Unit and two areas for Sonography, a Pediatric Emergency with eight observation beds, Triage, Trauma Shock, four nebulization chairs and six hydration chairs. ; in addition to a Gynecological Emergency with twelve observation beds, Triage, Trauma Shock and four nebulization chairs.
The Maternal and Child area of Marcelino Vélez Santana will benefit a population of more than 700 thousand inhabitants of Santo Domingo Oeste, it will have a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) with eighteen beds, an Isolated NICU with four beds, a Maternal ICU with six beds, an Isolated Maternal ICU with two beds, a Pediatric ICU with five beds and an Isolated Pediatric ICU with one bed.
Likewise, it will have three operating rooms, two delivery rooms, six recovery beds and five preparation beds, eight neonatal cribs, 15 dialysis stations, a Laboratory, a Milk Bank, a Kangaroo Mother Program, a Vaccine area, a Pharmacy, a Kitchen and a Laundry.
The remodeling of the building, which had been out of service for four years, includes replacement of doors and windows, placement of new floors, divisions and expansion of areas, installation of the electrical system and repair of bathrooms.
“Since we came to the Government we began to analyze the problems of this community, we identified the need for a maternity hospital in the area,” said President Luis Abinader.
The president specified that this Government does not initiate projects that cannot be completed, “the National Health Service already has the budget to finish this maternity.”
Dr. Lama indicated that the new unit will allow decongesting and relieving the burden in the large maternities of the Metropolitan region, which is the area of the country where the most births are registered and where the majority of highly complex patients are cared for.
“This area will also improve the response to the demand for Intensive Care Units, with the fitting out of 36 Neonatal, Pediatric and Maternal ICU beds,” Dr. Lama pointed out.
The head of the SNS reiterated the commitment of the Government and President Luis Abinader to guarantee Dominicans timely access to health services and reduce maternal and neonatal mortality rates.
“We continue to take firm steps to meet our goal of achieving a significant change in public health centers, this time adding a space to this center that will improve care for mothers and their children,” Lama stressed.
