 |
||||||||||||||
 |
|
    |
Published Friday, April 24, 2020
Capacity increase
for mobilehospital along northern border On Monday, a Mobile Medical Unit, so-called Mobile Hospital, was installed in the Canton of Los Chiles, Alajuela Province along the borderline with Nicaragua, due to the national emergency of the covid-19. The patient care capacity was expanded from 5 beds and 1 crib to 10 beds and two cots, with a minimum distance of two meters between each makeshift room. This new and improved hospital will now include a shock room, a delivery room for covid-19 patients, three isolation spaces, a nebulization area and the area for differentiated care of patients with respiratory symptoms, announced the government on Thursday. This area along the northern border has a large immigrant population, which is why Social Security anticipates an increase in medical service needs for that region, said Román Macaya-Hayes, president of Social Security. The Mobile Hospital serves as a preventive measure against possible scenarios in the area, due to the high flow of undocumented immigrants. In this case, one of the expected scenarios is an increasing immigrant population needing medical care, said Edual Alfaro-Barrantes, director of Los Chiles Hospital. According to statistics provided by the General Directorate of Migration, 7,326 foreigners have been denied entry into the country since the border closure went into effect on March 18. Of these 1,989 were foreigners with residency status disregarding the strict measures of re-entry during the state of emergency by covid-19. Immigrants and Costa Ricans in the rural areas near the northern border can take advantage of the Mobile Hospital. It is not just meant to cater to immigrants, but locals as well. One of the reasons the hospital was installed in that region was to increase medical services in rural areas, because of saturation of clinics and hospitals in the metropolitan area, Alfaro-Barrantes said. The greater metropolitan area consists of San José and its surrounding cities such as Alajuela, Heredia and Cartago. According to Alfaro-Barrantes, the use of this type of hospital will alleviate spaces in the main hospitals for the exclusive care of patients with respiratory problems and those infected with covid-19. The Mobile Hospital was installed to serve as an emergency room for patients who present other pathologies. There are three modules inside the mobile hospital. Two measuring 52 square meters and one measuring 26 square meters, for a total work area of 130 square meters, reported Social Security. Module one functions as the pre-check for patients. Module two is where patients will be checked. The space in the second module only allows for two patients to be attended simultaneously. And module three is a patient observation room. Each unit has available portable desks, stretchers, chairs, hand washing areas, medical equipment, independent air conditioning and electrical installation. On Wednesday, President Carlos Alvarado inspected the new mobile hospital. "By moving the emergency service to this mobile hospital, we will have more spaces in the medical center for the exclusive care of patients with respiratory symptoms and positive cases of covid-19," Alvarado said. Social Security has several mobile hospitals that have been used in different emergencies since 2016, said the organization in its statement. The mobile hospital will remain in operation indefinitely as the country faces the covid-19 emergency. --------------------- Should authorities enable more mobile hospitals in rural zones of the country? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com |
          |
 |
|
|
  |
