Efforts to reduce traffic accidents in the Dominican Republic have not yet made a difference. Meanwhile, the Abinader administration is investing heavily in trauma hospitals to give emergency care to the victims.
Givenh the reality of the high frequency of serious traffic accidents, Higuey, the largest city in the eastern region, now has a trauma hospital. The center seeks to make available emergency medical response to the general population. Most of the traffic accidents are caused by imprudent driving, and in 80% of the cases, motorcyclists are involved. The governments over the years have been negligent in obliging motorcyclists to comply with traffic rules.
Emergency services at the new Higuey trauma hospital, nevertheless, will not be available until October 2025, when the hospital will be fully operational. Medical consultations will start first on 18 August.
Orthopedic surgeon Luis Alberto Espinosa Jiménez was appointed the director of the Hospital Traumatológico de Higüey. He had been serving at the Hospital General Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia (HGensa) in Higuey. Orthopaedist Kenny Aquino Urbaez was named deputy director. He had also been serving at the HGENSA.
The state-of-the-art hospital, built with an investment of nearly RD$1 billion, has the promise to deliver dignified and prompt emergency care, significantly advancing specialized medical services in the area. The intention is to dramatically reduce the need for patients to travel to distant medical centers, speed up response times, and ultimately save lives across the East. Previously, most victims of major accidents were rushed to trauma hospitals in Santo Domingo, a more ttwo-hour drive west.
During the inauguration ceremony, President Abinader emphasized that the Higüey Trauma Hospital represents a crucial step toward solidifying the national trauma network first announced in 2022. He hailed it as a “substantial and transformative change in the country’s healthcare sector.”
Abinader highlighted that one of the historical challenges for the healthcare system has been providing timely care to victims of traffic accidents. He also revealed that the government is developing a digital application to immediately activate the trauma network protocol in the event of road accidents. This initiative aims to optimize response times and efficiently direct transfers to appropriate medical centers.
“We are building a true national trauma network,” Abinader affirmed. “Before, there were only three trauma hospitals in the entire country: two in Santo Domingo and one in La Vega, built during President Hipólito Mejía’s administration. Today, we are changing that with actions.”
The President announced that the Sosúa Trauma Hospital is already under construction and slated for completion in 2026, providing crucial support to the northern region, particularly in areas with high tourism and commercial activity. Progress is also being made on trauma hospitals in San Cristóbal in the southwest and Mao in the northwest, which will establish effective and balanced national coverage.
Additionally, Abinader underscored that the new San Vicente de Paúl Regional Teaching Hospital in San Francisco de Macorís will feature a modern, fully equipped trauma area designed to offer highly complex specialized care in the northeast. He reaffirmed his commitment to strengthening the national healthcare system, asserting that visible progress is being made in health across every corner of the country. “We are proud, but above all, deeply committed to continuing to work every day to better serve the Dominican people,” he concluded.
The Higuey hospital will also offer comprehensive medical care, in addition to trauma emergency services. Carlos Bonilla, Minister of Housing and Buildings (Mived), noted that the Higüey hospital is the 11th hospital delivered by Mived in just five years. This also includes 11 Diagnostic and Primary Care Centers, five new emergency departments, a pediatric oncology unit, two hemodialysis units, and a psychosocial center.
Mario Lama, Director of the National Health Service (SNS), praised President Abinader’s dedication to decentralizing and fortifying the national trauma care network. He highlighted that before the current administration, trauma services were concentrated in just three hospitals. Now, progress is being made toward more equitable coverage, as evidenced by the delivery of the Azua Regional Trauma Hospital in February and now, the Higüey facility.
Lama outlined a progressive activation plan for the Higüey hospital: outpatient consultations will begin on 18 August, followed by laboratory, X-ray, and sonography services on September 1. Tomography and MRI will be incorporated on 15 September, with emergency, inpatient, operating rooms, and intensive care units becoming operational on 6 October. Finally, the physiotherapy area will open on 13 October, aiming for full hospital functionality within two and a half months.
Minister of Public Health, Víctor Atallah, commended the President’s vision for prioritizing the public and designing policies to transform the nation’s health. He emphasized that the new hospital will ensure accident victims receive timely, rapid, and effective care within 60 to 90 minutes.
Construction of the Higüey Trauma Hospital, which began in December 2023, was completed in record time. It features an outpatient clinic with four general specialty consultation rooms and a laboratory. It also boasts a modern emergency unit, including triage areas for mild, moderate, and severe cases, and a specialized trauma shock unit.
The hospital also includes a physiotherapy unit offering speech therapy, electrotherapy, paraffin treatments, psychological support, and an adult gym. Its surgical unit comprises three general operating rooms, a support area, three-bed pre-surgical rooms, and post-surgical areas with capacity for six patients.
The facility is further equipped with an intensive care unit (ICU) containing seven cubicles and two isolated cubicles for patients requiring intensive medical attention. It also has an imaging area, including X-ray, sonography, and magnetic resonance imaging.
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El Dia
4 August 2025