Word has reached The San Pedro Sun that there are incredible changes coming up for the San Pedro Poly Clinic II. Amongst the exciting new changes: the clinic will be renamed in honor of San Pedro’s beloved, late, Dr. Otto Rodriguez. The Dr. Otto Rodriguez Poly Clinic will now include: expanded hours to provide better service, new and improved equipment, increased staffing, on-site laboratory services, designated 24-hour on-call physician and nurse, and so much more.
This expansion is a partnership between the GOB and the private sector. Funding is expected to come from the Government of Belize in the form of an additional BZ$200K to the current $1million budget and the private sector has pledged an additional BZ$200K over the next two years. Private sector funds are expected to come from fundraising, though details are not available at this time.
These changes were approved after a meeting at the clinic on September 8. Present were the Minister of Health, CEO of the Ministry of Health, Area Representative Manuel Heredia Jr., Dr. Zuniga, Lion Zone 59 chairman Baldemar Graniel Sr., Poly Clinic Director Owen Vellos, San Pedro Belize Tourism Industry Association (BTIA) members, amongst others. An official announcement regarding these changes will take place in a special ceremony on October 7, 2011.
The San Pedro Poly Clinic II was reported to have served more than 26,000 patients in 2010, and it is believed that the figure is likely under reported as it does not include community outreach and patients who were tended to outside of the clinic.
A more detailed article will be printed in the next issue of The San Pedro Sun. For now, we would like to thank all the businesses and individuals who have joined the San Pedro BTIA in lobbying for these much-needed and long-awaited changes.
