The new Dr. Manuel Amador Guerrero hospital in Colón is fully operational and serving the province after the transfer of all patients from the old center on December 5th. The hospital, recovered and handed over to the community by President José Raúl Mulino's administration after a decade of delays and a $414 million investment, was officially transferred from the Social Security Fund (CSS) to the Ministry of Health (Minsa) on June 25th of this year. Minister of the Presidency, Juan Carlos Orillac, conducted an inspection this Thursday to verify the quality of health services offered at the modern facility, accompanied by the medical director, Dr. Sergio Carter, and the institutional director, Dr. Nicolás Hurtado. High Performance in the First Five Days of Operation During its first five days of full-capacity operation, the Dr. Manuel Amador Guerrero hospital demonstrated high performance, registering significant operational figures that positively impact the population of Colón: • Births: 51 • Surgeries: 31, performed in the nine available operating rooms • Laboratory Tests: 2,500 • Radiological Studies: 920 Minister Orillac highlighted that the new infrastructure and care are top-notch, stating that "it is a hospital that has nothing to envy any other hospital in the world." Integration of Services and Modernization A key point of the hospital's operation is the implementation of the health system integration strategy in Panama. $414 million investment: the new hospital in Colón is already treating patients and performing 31 surgeries in five days. The facility, recovered by the Mulino administration after a decade of delays, implements the service integration strategy between the CSS and Minsa to avoid duplications. Orillac emphasized that this initiative seeks to eliminate service duplication between the CSS and Minsa, which will generate "many benefits for patients and significant savings to be able to address other areas." The minister toured various specialized areas, including neonatology, hospitalization, nephrology, pediatrics, internal medicine, orthopedics, the blood bank, mammography, and the laboratory and imaging rooms. Advanced Services Currently, 30 hemodialysis machines are being installed at the center. This service will directly benefit Colón patients, who until now had to travel to the capital to receive this type of care. Additionally, the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) equipment is already installed, and the staff is in the process of training for its operation. The hospital's laboratory already performs a wide range of tests, including neonatal screening, immunoserology, HIV viral load, hematology, urinalysis, and bacteriology.
