The government made the first of several monthly disbursements of US$2 million to a group of businessmen for the completion and equipping of the private Metropolitan Hospital of Santiago (HOMS) last Monday. Clave Digital reports that the money was delivered by the Administrative Secretary of the Presidency, Luis Manuel Bonetti, and the Minister of Public Health, Juan Bautista Rojas, during a private ceremony in the HOMS offices on Duarte Highway. The government has allocated an additional US$10 million to this project, which will be disbursed in equal monthly installments of US$2 million until the end of this year. The President’s decision to use public funds for the HOMS generated harsh criticism throughout the country because of the precarious situation in the public hospital system and the demands for better working conditions and higher salaries made by physicians and nurses. Bonetti said that in addition to the US$2 million disbursed, the government would provide another US$15 million in medical equipment. Also present at the ceremony were the president of the Board of Directors of HOMS, Dr. Rafael Sanchez Espanol and businessmen Jose Clase and Carlos Sully Fondeur, shareholders of the health center. As reported in El Caribe, Bonetti explained that the health center’s Administration Board will be composed of five members representing the government and five from the private sector, whereas the latter will be in charge of management. The government will be represented by the Administrative Secretary of the Presidency, Finance Minister Vicente Bengoa, the legal advisor to the Executive Branch, Cesar Pina Toribio, Gustavo Rojas and Bautista Rojas Gomez. The agreement between the government and the shareholders stipulates that the Ministry of Public Health will have the right to offer the hospital’s services to poor people.