During its first 12 months in operation, the Hospital Comunitario Jocotepec has racked up an impressive service record, with 19,500 patients coming through its doors, and many qualifying for free attention as affiliates of the Seguro Popular health insurance program.
At the May 13 celebration marking the facility’s first anniversary, Medical Director Julio Cesar Moreno Flores reported that the hospital’s physicians performed 600 surgical procedures and attended 1,400 births – an average of 86 per month-including 199 Cesarean sections.
The hospital boasts a fully equipped emergency room with shock and trauma units, an x-ray unit, 22 in-patient beds and a nursery for newborns, along with its laboratory analysis, pain management, catheter and dental clinics. Consultations are available in the areas of pediatrics, gynecology-obstetrics, psychology, family medicine and social work. It has an ambulance fleet and heliport for rapid transport of patients requiring emergency care in Guadalajara.
The facility runs with a staff of 172 employees, counting general practitioners, specialists, nurses, administrative officers and cleaning personnel.
Hospital care and all medical services are also available a modest costs to lakeshore residents and visitors who do not subscribe to Seguro Popular. For example, the fee for a medical consultation (booked with a reference with any Centro de Salud) is 75 pesos. Sutures for cuts and injuries start at 165 pesos; and x-rays range from 150 to 450 pesos depending on the body part under examination.
To be eligible for free care, patients are required to present an official photo ID and a copy of a valid Seguro Popular policy. For further information, call (387) 763-1234.