SIGN UP FOR OUR 
The Costa Rican Social Security Agency (CCSS, in Spanish) said they will publish later this year a tender in order to select the company that will design, build and equip a 70,000 square meter hospital in Puntarenas, on Costa Rica’s central Pacific coast.
The new hospital will be located in Barranca, and will open in 2021 with a substantially larger and improved infrastructure, and more services compared to the existing hospital which suffered extensive damage in the 7.6 magnitude earthquake September 5, 2012 with an epicenter on the Nicoya Peninsula of Guanacaste.
The hospital will require an investment of US$178 million, and will include 64 examination rooms, 12 operating rooms, 350 inpatient beds, 43 observation beds in the emergency room, and 4 delivery rooms.
Preliminary architectural plans have been drafted to include the new characteristics, and the medical and non-medical services that will be included in the new building, said Jorge Granados Soto, Infrastructure and Technology Manager at the CCSS.
“We have the preliminary project finalized, and we are about to initiate … studies including road feasibility, hydrology and environmental impact needed to develop the new structure,” said the engineer.
The old Monseñor Sanabria Hospital had only 52 exam rooms, seven operating rooms, 218 inpatient beds, seven observation beds, and two delivery rooms.
In addition, the new building will have an environmentally friendly construction that includes safety measures to protect against fire and earthquakes, and that will conform to the Equal Opportunities regulations for people with disabilities. Likewise, it will be a Digital Hospital that will have the implementation of the EDUS Digital Unique Health Record.
New medical specialties will also be offered, which will increase the number of services available to the 275,935 people currently affiliated with the health facility.
The new specialties to be offered in addition to the existing medical services are cardiology, endocrinology, medical oncology, oncology surgery, gynecology oncology, otolaryngology, interventional radiology, and hemodynamics, said the CCSS in a statement.
