Two of 81 newborns relocated from the neonatal intensive care unit at the Maternidad Nuestra Senora de la Altagracia, the country’s largest maternity hospital, did not survive being evacuated after a short circuit affected the air conditioning in their ward. Sprinklers rapidly put out the fire, forcing the babies to be transferred. The repairs are due for completion this week.
Dr. Luis Rivera confirmed the babies’ deaths on Saturday night, 16 August 2014 at the Robert Reid Cabral Children’s Hospital where they had been taken together with seven other newborns. Dr. Rivera said the deaths were due to complications linked to their extreme prematurity. The babies, who weighed 2 lb, were in a delicate condition.
The fire caused considerable damage and 18 infants were relocated to the Hugo Mendoza (2) Reid Cabral (8), Los Mina (5), and Reynaldo Almanzar (3) maternity hospitals. Another 63 babies were relocated to other areas in the same maternity hospital. According to reports, 911 Emergency Center units were used in the transfer.
The director of the Robert Reid Cabral hospital, Rosa Nieves Paulino confirmed that eight babies had been hospitalized, including five in the intensive care neonatal area. She said the babies are in stable condition in their intensive care unit. The newborns weigh between one and 1.3 kg.
Hugo Mendoza public hospital director Nordi Naut said that the three babies they received were in stable condition.
As reported in Diario Libre, the fire broke out in the intensive care unit of the La Altagracia maternity at 8:30am on Saturday, 16 August 2014 affecting the incubators at the hospital.
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/2014/08/18/i750851_mueren-dos-bebs-los-trasladados-maternidad-altragracia.html
Dos niños mueren en hospital Reid Cabral; otros están muy delicados
http://www.elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=387328