It is estimated that construction of the new facilities will take three years, meaning that the current hospital will remain operational.
The new hospital will be built on the site of the former headquarters of the U.S. embassy, and will be joined to the old hospital, being very close together.
At this moment in time the medical project is ready for the construction to begin, but requires an architectural study before they can proceed with development.
Panama has reopened a tender for the transport, treatment and disposal of hazardous hospital waste.
After the Ministry of Health directly awarded a three month contract to Naves Supply Company, raising serious questions in the industry, the government has decided to open a new tender, published PanamáCompra on its web Portal on July 1.
An article in Prensa.con states, "according to the original request, last Monday was the deadline for receipts of bids from 11 companies, but Auramek requested an 45 day extension in the proceedings citing complications with international document authentication. However, the MoH only agreed to grant an additional five days.
The Ministry of Health has announced the construction of a health center in Rio Sereno, Renacimiento.
The center will include general medical care, specialists in different areas and 24 hour emergency care, declared the Minister of Health, Franklin Vergara.
According to an article in Prensa.com, the minister said it would be, "... a center for innovative primary health care that will help solve medical problems faced by people in this region for the last several years and would prevent people having to go to Costa Rica for medical help."
Up to $20 million is thought to be necessary to improve infrastructure, medicine stocks and equipment in order to save the Nicolás A. Solano hospital in southern Panama.
The Health Minister, Franklin Vergara, will ask the Panamanian congress for a special $10 million loan to be used for the improvement works that the hospital needs. The health facility's poor condition is due to 11 years of inadequate maintenance, which have led it to its current crisis situation in which it, "lacks medicines, equipment and health personnel".
Last December´s rain left losses in infrastructure, housing, education and health centers.
Damage to road infrastructure in the eastern provinces of Panama, Colon, Darien and Chiriqui, Bocas del Toro and Cocle amounted to $ 150 million.
"The climate phenomenon not only destroyed part of the road network in Panama, it also damaged homes, so the Ministry of Housing and Land Management (Miviot) will have to invest $ 10 million in a contingency fund," stated the article in Prensa.com.
The Ministry of Health announced the bidding for the summer of 2011. The health center is located in the District of Macaracas.
The new center of primary health care (MoH-Capsi) will have a capacity of 25 to 30 beds.
The head of the Ministry of Health (MoH), Franklin Vergara, stated works will last for about 12 months.
"This Minsa-Capsi will attend patients from the 11 districts of Macaracas and towns of Tonosí, Los Santos, Los Pozos, Las Minas and part of Veraguas," writes Prensa.com.
A 4 hectare site in Coclé province will be used to construct the ministry's regional headquarters.
The project includes accommodation for doctors, a conference center and an area for specialist medical attention.
The announcement was made by the Health Minister, Franklin Vergara, during a visit to the central southern region of Panama.
The new regional Health Ministry (Minsa) head office, "will be located next to the Panamerican highway by the Penonomé exit for Aguadulce," reports Prensa.com.
Five consortiums have submitted bids for the $60 million hospital construction project.
The participating consortium were Consorcio IBT Health, Sociedad Española de Montajes Industriales, Omega Engineering, Ingeniería R.M. and Consorcio Termotécnica Mega Proyecto.
The contract includes the design, construction and in some cases provision of equipment for ten innovative primary health care centers.
The Minister for Health will carry out an evaluation of hospital waste in order to install treatment equipment.
The Minister, Franklin Vergara, said the project began in the integrated San Miguel Arcángel hospital, where start-of-the-art equipment is treating waste such as syringes and needles, producing sterilized outputs.
Vergara pointed out that the project only refers to hospital trash, not general refuse and that the members of the committee, professionals in environmental health, are there to ensure that appropriate waste management standards are met.
The Health Ministry decided to delay by 10 days the bidding process for building 5 hospitals in the country.
“The original date for opening the proposals was June, Tuesday 29. The evaluating committee explained that choosing the contractor ended up being a very complex process, and requested an additional three days”, reported Prensa.com.
Six companies are participating in this process: IBT Health (U.S.), Samsung C&T (Korea), HPP (Colombia), OHL Arellano, FCC and Semi S.A.
Now that the standardization and consultation process is done, interested companies have until May 14 to present their final designs.
Over 50 companies have participated in the process. At least three of them, Oderbrecth, Impregilo and Copisa, announced they will proceed and submit designs.
Health Minister Franklin Vergara informed that the consultation process with interested companies has been concluded.
The Health Ministry has urgently invited tenders for 74 ambulances.
The announcement was made by Health Minister Franklin Vergara, six months after a controversial direct purchase for 20 ambulances was canceled by the General Comptroller.
These 74 units will be used to serve the entire country. Vergara argued that firefighters, Red Cross and health centers lack this type of equipment.
Panama's shortage of specialist doctors could be solved by temporary hiring foreign professionals.
This was suggested by Health Minister Franklin Vergara, who stated that such measure would be a "quick way out" of the problem, "as long as medical union agreements are considered".
"The head of the ministry also suggested the creation of an 'institutional doctor', a specialist who would attend state entities for an attractive salary", reported Pa-digital.com.pa.