Punta Gorda, Belize, June 09, 2023 (PAHO) – As part of the Health Sector Support Programme Belize Project, the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) and the European Union (EU) officially handed over the newly retrofitted Punta Gorda Community Hospital (PGCH) to the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MoHW) crediting the facility as a ‘Smart Health Care Facility.’
With Belize's annual precipitation ranging from 60 inches (subtropical) in the North to 150 inches (tropical) in the South, its low-lying coasts and rising sea level combine to make it vulnerable to hurricanes, flooding, and storm surges. Thus, health facilities must be able to deliver care effectively and efficiently in a safe environment that protects both staff and patients during emergencies. This is especially relevant for the Punta Gorda Community Hospital which provides secondary care for 52 communities, many of which are remotely located at the end of flood-prone roads.
“Reducing the vulnerability of health care facilities is a goal that can be achieved as we see here today,” said Dr. Karen Lewis-Bell, PAHO/WHO Representative in Belize. “The ‘smart’ initiative focuses on improving a facility’s resilience and strengthening structural and operational aspects with green innovations. We are grateful to the EU for entrusting us with the implementation of this project and the long-standing partnership we have to be able to retrofit six health facilities as well as to improve the overall health system in Belize.”
With a USD$688,022.00 investment for the facility, the PGCH has undergone significant retrofitting works to improve overall safety, functionality, and sustainability. These included:
- Redesigned and retrofitted the Accident and Emergency section (new doors, windows, painting, tiling, electrical and plumbing, ceiling)
- Increased insulation, installation of new roof sheeting, metal trusses, and facia boards to the roof structure
- Built and reinforced access ramp with new roof, encasement, and lighting
- Renovated the Mental Health ward by expanding the area and installing new tiles and walls
- Improved drainage around and throughout the facility
- Improved the sewer treatment system including the rehabilitation of the leachfield
- Installed a new water storage and pumping system with a rainwater collection system
- Installed new LED lights and more efficient AC units
- Donation of a 100kW backup generator
Additionally, the entire facility has received exterior and interior repairs with new tiling, doors, and hurricane-grade storm shutters. The facility will also receive a new solar water heater.
“Today I am very happy to see the concrete results of the European Union’s Support to the Belizean Health sector in Punta Gorda,” said Mr. Aniceto Rodriguez, EU Head of Cooperation for Belize. “The community hospital has been rehabilitated according to plans and within the allocated budget. It has now increased capacities, it is safer, more resistant to weather hazards and more efficient in using energy electricity and water. It is also more accessible to the patients and able to deliver better healthcare services to the surrounding communities. I thank the Ministry of Health, PAHO and the contractors for the excellent joint effort to implement together with the EU this vital project for the wellbeing of Belizean people.”
With the assistance of the design and supervising consultant, Mitchell Moody & Associates, and the contractor, Guerra’s Construction Ltd., the PGCH is the first of the six health facilities to become a ‘smart’ hospital. The Southern Regional Hospital (Dangriga) and Corozal Community Hospital are expected to be completed later this year while the Northern Regional Hospital (Orange Walk), and Western Regional Hospital (Belmopan) will be completed next year. Retrofitting of the Central Medical Laboratory will also be completed next year.
Funded by the EU and implemented by PAHO/WHO in collaboration with the MoHW, the Health Sector Support Programme Belize Project is one of the largest projects in the country with a funding of 8.8 million Euros. Besides making health facilities disaster-resilient and climate-friendly, the project is also improving the structure, organization, and management of health services, and strengthening Belize’s health information system.
“Even after this project’s completion, the MoHW is adapting the use of PAHO’s Model Policy for smart health facilities for assessments of current and future facilities seeking to determine that balance between safety and an environmentally-sustainable setting, thereby reaching the goal of health facilities that are climate-smart and disaster resilient, that protect the lives of patients and staff and that continues to function when they are most needed,” said Hon. Kevin Bernard, Minister of the MoHW. “Plan Belize aligns with this achievement where we promised to retrofit or build new hospitals for Punta Gorda, San Pedro, and Belmopan.”
PAHO/WHO continues to collaborate with partners like the EU and the MoHW to strengthen Belize’s health system to “achieve a better quality of life, for all Belizeans, living now and in the future.”
