Construction of a third public Hospital Civil in the Guadalajara metropolitan area has started in the suburb of Tonala under the auspices of the University of Guadalajara (UdG).
This week, Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro, UdG Rector Ricardo Villanueva and Tonala Mayor Juan Antonio González Mora were on hand to lay the first stone of the new Hospital Civil de Oriente, a regional facility designed not only to serve residents of Tonala but also outlying communities to the east and south of the city, including el El Salto, Juanacatlán and Zapotlanejo.
The new facility will be equipped with 260 beds, 50 consulting rooms, seven operating rooms, separate adult and children’s ER areas and a heliport.
As with the Viejo and Nuevo Hospitales Civiles in central Guadalajara, the Tonala facility will operate as a teaching hospital for students undertaking medical degrees at the UdG. The hospital will also carry out a certain amount of investigation and research.
A budget of 50 million pesos ($US2.6 million) has been set to finish the first stage of the hospital, which will include emergency and outpatient care. Another 200 million pesos ($US10 million) will be required to complete the work over the next six years.
The hospital will cater mainly to Mexicans with health coverage under the Seguro Popular program, and the uninsured.