---
Pavía Hospital in Hato Rey disclosed on Thursday that it intends to revamp its facilities to concentrate solely on specialized mental health services, responding to the surge in suicide incidents and mental health disorders on the island.
“This reorganization reinforces our social obligation towards the health and welfare of Puerto Ricans and aims to fulfill that requirement,” stated Carlos Santiago Rosario, the hospital’s executive director, in an official announcement.
The hospital will form a multidisciplinary team that will feature psychiatrists under the guidance of Dr. Héctor Cott and internist Andrés Calvo, a specialist in addiction, Santiago Rosario noted. Additionally, it will provide electroconvulsive therapy supervised by psychiatrists José Vigo, Roberto Zayas, and Efraín del Valle.
This announcement followed comments from Desireé López Ramírez, the international representative of the United Auto Workers in Puerto Rico (UAW), who indicated that Pavía Hospital’s management was considering closing the hospital, a decision that would put hundreds of employees out of work and deprive patients of health care services.
She mentioned that approximately 100 employees, which includes registered and practical nurses, operating room technicians, pharmacists, pharmacy aides, laboratory personnel, and maintenance staff, could be affected. Furthermore, the ramifications of a closure would extend to critical departments such as radiology, emergency services, surgery, intensive care units, medical labs, and respiratory therapy, among others, as highlighted by the UAW representative, who advocates for hospital staff.
“The closure announcement has generated anxiety among hospital personnel due to the absence of details regarding how, when, and why the hospital plans to cease operations,” López Ramírez remarked. “It is intolerable for a hospital to shut its doors without providing a clear rationale to its employees or to the patients reliant on these essential services. We are confronted with an uncertain scenario that threatens the stability of over 100 families and jeopardizes the care of about 200 to 250 patients monthly, not to mention the outpatient surgeries, gastroscopies, and colonoscopies conducted at this facility.”
The union representative further noted that the conditions at Pavía are deteriorating, as information acquired by UAW indicates that, starting Nov. 1, physicians will no longer be able to admit patients to the hospital.
“This creates a state of uncertainty for patients, leaving them unaware of where they will obtain the necessary hospital care,” López Ramírez stated. “While the hospital professes it is transforming to better address mental health needs, it actually is adversely affecting the mental well-being of its own staff due to this unpredictability.”
At the time of publication, it remained unclear whether these changes in the medical facility would lead to job losses.
