After nearly two years in the works, Jocotepec’s newly finished community hospital went into operation on Saturday, May 16.
Mexico’s Minster of Health Mercedes Juan Lopez paired up with Jalisco Governor Aristoteles Sandoval Diaz to preside at the formal opening ceremony on Wednesday, May 13, arriving after a helicopter fly-over of the grounds. Other dignitaries attending the event included Jalisco Health Minister Jaime Agustin Gonzalez Alvarez, Jocotepec Mayor Juan Francisco O’Shea Cuevas and his brother Gabriel O’Shea, national commissioner of the Seguro Popular public health insurance program.
Located on the eastern outskirts Jocotepec adjacent to the main highway, the Hospital Comunitario was built on a large plot of land donated by the municipal government. The fully-equipped, 2,000 square meter medical facility comprises a large emergency room, two surgical theaters, a nursery,18 beds for inpatient care, five consultation rooms including a dental clinic, diagnostic areas for x-rays and 3-D mammograms and laboratory analysis, a pharmacy, administrative offices, rest rooms and spacious waiting areas. Exterior amenities include the gated entrance and guard module, an ample visitor parking lot and annex with roof-top heliport.
The hospital was designed to serve patients residing throughout the lakeshore region, with no-cost service available to those enrolled in Seguro Popular. Care will also be available to individuals who are not enrolled in the program, payable according to a standard scale of recuperation fees. Official receipts will be issued, allowing for reimbursements from private health insurance policies.
Named to fill the post as medical direction is Dr. Julio Cesar Moreno Flores, a 31-year-old Jocotepec native who graduated from the University of Guadalajara as a titled surgeon and later completed a Master’s degree in hospital administration. He will supervise a staff of 218, including general physicians, medical specialists, nurses and social workers.
Moreno notes that 70 percent of the employees are residents of the area, with the remainder-mostly medical specialists-coming in from the Guadalajara metro area.
Following the ground-breaking in August 2013, the hospital was constructed in three phases at a cost of 117,327,032 pesos paid from state and federal coffers. Estimated operating costs will run at 3.8 million pesos per month, funded by Seguro Popular.