Zapopan city hall has begun construction of a new municipal health clinic/small hospital on a plot of land located adjacent to the bustling Tianguis del Sol (market) at Avenida Tepeyac.
The clinic will be known as the Hospitalito del Sur and aims to relieve the burden currently placed on the Cruz Verde (Green Cross) clinic in Colonia Las Águilas, which is the only municipal health center of its kind in the south of the city.
Like the Cruz Roja, Cruz Verde clinics act chiefly as an option for emergency treatment. However, they are mostly run by municipal governments. According to Zapopan authorities, the Hospitalito del Sur will serve the public like the Cruz Verde but have “accentuated capabilities.” There will be an adult and pediatric emergency wing, a trauma and emergency care center, a shock room, outpatient consultation, imaging, a laboratory, hospitalization facilities and operating rooms.
Zapopan city hall says it has earmarked 171.8 million pesos ($US9.95 million) for the project, which will be finished by June of this year.
Although the Cruz Verde is supposed to be a low-cost health alternative for the economically challenged, some of the prices charged for their services, in particular x-rays, are often more expensive than those found at some private laboratories. Although the fee for a doctor’s consultation at the Las Aguilas Cruz Verde clinic, 150 pesos, is significantly less than in the private sector, it is more than the charge usually levied by pharmacies that have small consultation rooms attached to their outlets.