Happy Mother’s Day! New Hospital in Loreto, Mexico
We wrote this for Nellie because she told us she needed a break, and what a better time to give a gift than on Mother’s Day that she was able to spend with her mother and daughter in Victoria. This guest blog is about our tour of the new hospital that was given by Dr. Carranza, Director, to invited foreigners on April 22, 2008.
Here are a few pix from the tour. It was a fairly typical Mexican event, started late, was disorganized and everybody seemed to have a good time! The Director of the Hospital gave the tour, he looks to be in his 30's speaks better than adequate English and I was impressed by the responsibility he has at his age. Opening a new Hospital in Mexico is not an everyday event and it is obviously a significant honor to be chosen for this position.
My impressions include; the building is much larger than I had any idea of from the outside, I'm not an expert at this sort of thing but I would guess it could be as much as 15,000 to 20,000 sq ft. The Director made a big deal of telling us, many times, that all of the equipment was NEW, apparently not a common circumstance in his experience with the medical system. The quality of construction and finish were very good, ceramic tile floors in about half the building in high traffic areas, the inevitable stucco walls, suspended drywall ceilings, very bright and airy throughout with central A/C and emergency generators for the inevitable power failures. There are three consultation rooms, two for general medicine and one for a specialist, plus one for a dentist. There are 5 ward rooms each with two beds and a washroom plus one isolation room. There is plenty of room for expansion on the current site for adding more beds, which I gather are in the future plans.
There are two operating rooms, one for delivering babies, the other for all other surgeries. There is a lab for blood and other tests, an ultrasound and X-ray set-up and in-house laundry and kitchen as well as a small chapel (under the dome you can see as you drive past). The menu of services and related charges has not been released yet, but for all but the lowest income Mexican citizens (who receive their services free) the payment terms are simple, cash. No insurance of any kind is accepted, but the fees are supposed to be very low, by North American standards, e.g. an initial consultation with a Doctor is $110 pesos.
There is a pharmacy on the premises to distribute medication as well. I am sketchy on the details, but I gather there are supposed to be at least 3 general medicine Doctors and one Specialist plus Emergency staff. Two Doctors will be available in the morning and one in the afternoon, Emergency will operate 24 hours. There will be one general surgeon and one pediatric specialist staffing the two surgeries. The Hospital is open now as a sort of walk-in clinic, but is due to be completed, staffed, and in full operation by sometime in June, in time for the official visit by President Calderón for the Grand Opening.
In conclusion I was very impressed with the facility, acknowledging that I know very little about Hospitals, other than watching Grey's Anatomy. It will be a vital link in the future of all people who live in or visit Loreto and I am pleased to think that the Loreto Bay Foundation has contributed to making it a reality.
Drew and Cathy of FN49 wish all Mothers’ a Great Day today!
We wrote this for Nellie because she told us she needed a break, and what a better time to give a gift than on Mother’s Day that she was able to spend with her mother and daughter in Victoria. This guest blog is about our tour of the new hospital that was given by Dr. Carranza, Director, to invited foreigners on April 22, 2008. 
Here are a few pix from the tour. It was a fairly typical Mexican event, started late, was disorganized and everybody seemed to have a good time! The Director of the Hospital gave the tour, he looks to be in his 30's speaks better than adequate English and I was impressed by the responsibility he has at his age. Opening a new Hospital in Mexico is not an everyday event and it is obviously a significant honor to be chosen for this position.
My impressions include; the building is much larger than I had any idea of from the outside, I'm not an expert at this sort of thing but I would guess it could be as much as 15,000 to 20,000 sq ft. The Director made a big deal of telling us, many times, that all of the equipment was NEW, apparently not a common circumstance in his experience with the medical system. The quality of construction and finish were very good, ceramic tile floors in about half the building in high traffic areas, the inevitable stucco walls, suspended drywall ceilings, very bright and airy throughout with central A/C and emergency generators for the inevitable power failures. There are three consultation rooms, two for general medicine and one for a specialist, plus one for a dentist. There are 5 ward rooms each with two beds and a washroom plus one isolation room. There is plenty of room for expansion on the current site for adding more beds, which I gather are in the future plans. 
There are two operating rooms, one for delivering babies, the other for all other surgeries. There is a lab for blood and other tests, an ultrasound and X-ray set-up and in-house laundry and kitchen as well as a small chapel (under the dome you can see as you drive past). The menu of services and related charges has not been released yet, but for all but the lowest income Mexican citizens (who receive their services free) the payment terms are simple, cash. No insurance of any kind is accepted, but the fees are supposed to be very low, by North American standards, e.g. an initial consultation with a Doctor is $110 pesos. 
There is a pharmacy on the premises to distribute medication as well. I am sketchy on the details, but I gather there are supposed to be at least 3 general medicine Doctors and one Specialist plus Emergency staff. Two Doctors will be available in the morning and one in the afternoon, Emergency will operate 24 hours. There will be one general surgeon and one pediatric specialist staffing the two surgeries. The Hospital is open now as a sort of walk-in clinic, but is due to be completed, staffed, and in full operation by sometime in June, in time for the official visit by President Calderón for the Grand Opening.
In conclusion I was very impressed with the facility, acknowledging that I know very little about Hospitals, other than watching Grey's Anatomy. It will be a vital link in the future of all people who live in or visit Loreto and I am pleased to think that the Loreto Bay Foundation has contributed to making it a reality.Drew and Cathy of FN49 wish all Mothers’ a Great Day today!
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