Hospital San Miguel turns 5!
It's already been five years since the doors of Hospital San Miguel first opened! On 8 November 2021, we welcomed our very first patients. What started as a small outpatient clinic has grown, in five years, into a full hospital, with several inpatient wards, an operating room and a delivery room. A development we're incredibly proud of!
And what a difference we've been able to make in those five years. By now, almost 8,000 patients have found their way to Hospital San Miguel. Together, more than 22,500 consultations have taken place, we've admitted more than 1,200 patients, and we got to welcome no fewer than 90 healthy babies. Behind every number is a personal story: someone who could be helped, a patient who received the right care, or a family who got to go home with a healthy baby.
The hospital's significance goes far beyond these numbers. Hospital San Miguel is located in Puerto El Carmen, in the remote Ecuadorian Amazon, in the province of Putumayo. For many residents and surrounding, sometimes hard-to-reach communities, good medical care is not a given. Distances are long, and for a long time, options for medical help were very limited. That's exactly why having a hospital in the region itself is of such great value.
With an outpatient clinic, 24/7 emergency care, a laboratory, pharmacy, radiology, and the possibility of admission, surgery and childbirth, we can help more and more people. We offer not just medical care, but also the chance to be treated close to home, without patients having to travel far for every medical need.
None of this would have been possible without the dedication of our local staff, doctors, nurses, volunteers, donors and everyone else involved. Together, in five years, we've built something that is of vital importance to the people of Putumayo.
To everyone who has contributed to this: thank you so much!
