Santo Domingo.- The National Health Service (SNS) has announced that approximately 172 health centers within the Public Network are now offering new services, marking a historic development for these facilities. The expanded services include tomography scans, mammograms, newly equipped laboratories, dental units, and programs such as Early Detection for Hearing Deficits, Hypothermia Therapy, and Neonatal Intensive Care Units.
According to the SNS, the introduction of these services, many of which are implemented for the first time in various health centers and some for the first time in the Public Network, is part of a comprehensive strengthening initiative for over 192 hospitals and First Level Centers. This initiative involves an investment of nearly two billion pesos in state-of-the-art equipment, along with renovations and the recruitment of new personnel.
As of 2023, twelve hospitals now provide cutting-edge CT scans, with nine of them having this modern equipment for the first time. These hospitals include Vinicio Calventi, Toribio Bencosme, Padre Billini, Luis Morillo King, Taiwan March 19, Mario Tolentino Dipp, San Bartolomé, Estrella Ureña, and Municipal de Verón hospitals.
Additionally, the Morillo King Hospital in La Vega now offers mammography services for the first time. Margarita Paulino, the center’s director, expressed gratitude for these new facilities, especially benefiting economically disadvantaged patients who can now access these services within the hospital.
Moreover, hospitals like Santo Socorro, Moscoso Puello, Evangelina Rodríguez, and Estrella Ureña have acquired a mammogram for the first time. The Luis L. Bogaert Hospital has introduced echocardiogram services for the first time.
The expansion also includes the inauguration of new laboratory services in 16 health centers, eight hospitals, and eight Diagnostic Centers across various regions, contributing to the record figure of almost 25 million tests conducted last year in the Public Health Network.
Under the current SNS management, five Neonatal Intensive Care Units have been inaugurated for the first time at Ciudad Juan Bosch, Pedro E. de Marchena, Nuestra Señora de Regla, Inmaculada Concepción, and José Francisco Peña Gómez hospitals. These units have played a crucial role in the survival of more than three thousand newborns.
Innovative services such as Hypothermia Therapy and Early Detection of Hearing Deficit are now being implemented for the first time in the Public Health Network. Hypothermia Therapy is available at the Reynaldo Almánzar and San Lorenzo de Los Mina hospitals, achieving remarkable success in just seven months by liberating ten children from cerebral palsy. The Hearing Deficit program, initiated under the “Uniendo Voluntades” initiative led by the First Lady Raquel Arbaje since October 2022, has screened 27,944 patients. This program operates in hospitals such as Reynaldo Almánzar, Hugo Mendoza, Robert Reid, San Lorenzo de Los Mina, Arturo Grullón, Presidente Estrella Ureña, Marcelino Vélez, and Nuestra Señora de La Altagracia in Higüey.
