Mérida is set to get a new hospital to replace its over 100-year-old Augusto O’Horán medical center.
The much-needed hospital will be built with both state and federal funds. The exact location of the new hospital is yet to be disclosed but authorities have mentioned that it would be built in Mérida’s south near the location of the Korea-Mexico friendship hospital.
The Hospital O’Horán first opened its doors to patients in 1906 and has undergone several renovations since.
The hospital has a maximum capacity of 800 patients and has quickly become one of Yucatán’s most important COVID-19 wards since the beginning of the pandemic.
The announcement was made on Oct. 23 during a ceremony commemorating Mexico’s national doctors’ day.
“Securing federal funds for a project of this size is no small job, but I have been in close contact with the President and I am confident we will be able to work out a budget,” said Yucatán Gov. Mauricio Vila Dosal.
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State authorities have highlighted the importance of continuing to invest in Yucatán’s healthcare infrastructure to avoid potential saturation — a lesson well learned, but at a great human cost, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Aside from the Hospital O’Horán, some of Yucatán’s largest public medical facilities include the Hospital Regional de Alta Especialidad and several regional ISSSTE hospitals.
Given its status as Yucatán’s capital and largest city, Mérida also counts with several private clinics and hospitals which attract patients from across the world, but mostly Mexico and Central America.
Yucatan’s government has also recently announced that they will continue with the construction of an unfinished hospital in Ticul that was abandoned in 2015.
Construction of the hospital began in 2011 under the tenure of Gov. Ivonne Ortega Pacheco but was plagued with delays until it was ultimately scrapped.
