The city of San Luis Río Colorado currently has 12 hospitals and 10 clinics with a total of 117 hospital beds, which translates into 7.97 hospital beds per 10,000 inhabitants. Only two of the hospitals provide specialty services. The demand for medical services has been growing at an estimated rate of 5% annually and is expected to reach as much as 7% for some critical illnesses, such as diabetes, hypertension, cancer and childbirth. This demand has been exacerbated by the influx of patients with COVID-19, as local healthcare facilities have recently been operating at capacity, further spotlighting the need to expand medical care services in the region.
The project consists of the design, construction and operation of private medical facilities that include a hospital and a medical specialties center.
The project also includes the acquisition and installation of medical equipment, such as a computer tomography (CT) scanner, magnetic resonance imaging and an angiography system. The project will be developed on approximately 3,000 m2 (32,300 ft2) of private land and will incorporate sustainable construction techniques and thermally efficient building materials that will reduce water usage and energy consumption, including low-flow plumbing fixtures, efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system, and thermal insulation in the exterior walls and roof of the buildings.
The medical facilities will increase access to affordable and sustainable healthcare services in a region currently experiencing high demand for such services due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as provide first-time access to critical medical services, including a trauma emergency room, intensive care units, cardiac and cerebral catheterization, cardiac and vascular surgery, CT scanning and a private blood bank, among others. Once the new facilities are operational and reach full capacity, up to 33,800 primary care physical exams are expected to be performed annually and the number of hospital beds in the city will increase 57%, from 117 to 184.
Additionally, the new facilities are expected to use 43% less water than a typical healthcare facility, saving an estimated 4.2 million gallons a year, similar to the annual consumption of 60 households. Likewise, they are expected to use 18% less electricity for ambient cooling purposes compared to the baseline building in Mexican regulations, saving an estimated 257 megawatts-hours (MWh)/year, similar to the annual consumption of 34 households. This reduction in electricity demand is equivalent to the displacement of approximately 83 metric tons/year of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, as well as of other criteria pollutants.