Emilio Burgwardt Hospital

The Emilio Burgwardt Hospital (Spanish: Hospital Vecinal Emilio Burgwardt, lit. 'Emilio Burgwardt Neighborhood Hospital') is a hospital located in Longchamps, in the southern area of the Greater Buenos Aires.

Emilio Burgwardt Hospital
Geography
LocationLongchamps, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Coordinates34°51′26.111″S 58°23′11.778″W
Organisation
FundingNon-profit hospital
History
Opened1956
Links
ListsHospitals in Argentina

It is administered and owned by a civic society, Sociedad de Fomento Emilio Burgwardt.[1][2]

It has five plants, an operating theater, hospitalization beds and a medical guard.[3] However, building infrastructure has deteriorated over the years, leading to several claims for it to be administered by the Province of Buenos Aires Ministry of Health.[4]

In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Argentina's federal government performed a series of reforms in the hospital, aiming to reinforce the regional health system.[2]

History

The hospital opened in 1956 as a smaller institution, created by citizens' initiative of a group of neighbors, which growth it from a small community health center to a full hospital.[5][2] It was built upon a house which used to belong to the Lezcano family of that city. It soon became a reference medical center in the region, since it featured an operation theater, beds, and a permanent medical guard.[2]

In 2001, a mobile phone antenna was installed in the hospital rooftop.[2]

The hospital in 2016

In 2002, a 2-year-old boy named Fabricio Barrios died an hour after he was administered the MMR and Hepatitis B vaccines in the hospital.[6] He couldn't be transferred to another hospital since there were no ambulances. His mother blamed the death on the Burgwardt Hospital, but according to the Buenos Aires Province Ministry of Health, the vaccines hadn't expired. That same day, other 25 children were vaccinated and had no issues.[6] Then-Ministry of Health, Ginés González García, believed the death was caused by malpractice, arguing the boy had probably been injected with something other than the actual vaccine.[7][3] Then-President of the Argentine Society of Pediatricians also didn't believe the vaccine could have caused the death.[8]

The hospital administrator of the time, Ángel Marrone, stated that the hospital didn't receive any government funds and that, when they heard of this boy's case, immediately requested ambulances from the Lomas de Zamora 6th Sanitary Region, the Lucio Meléndez Hospital, and from a private ambulance company.[8][6] The request was unanswered.

As years passed, the building situation deteriorated, and provided services cut down. By 2014, the hospital was practically inactive and only the offices, rented to third party physicians, were operating.[9]

In 2014, the hospital was requested to dismantle the cell site, but then-administrator Norberto Paniagua refused to do so.[10] The antenna was taken down on 2015, as neighbors had collected 1500 signatures demanding it.[11][12]

In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Argentina's federal government stroke a deal with the civic society which runs the hospital to make a series of reforms, aiming to reinforce the regional health system.[2]

References
  1. "SOCIEDAD DE FOMENTO EMILIO BURGWARDT (30-54579758-1), Longchamps (Buenos Aires) - Cuit Online". www.cuitonline.com. Retrieved 2020-08-25.
  2. Baños Pozzati, Malena (6 June 2020). "Coronavirus en Almirante Brown: a la espera del pico, recuperaron un hospital vecinal para tener más plazas de internación" [Coronavirus in Almirante Brown: preparing for the peak, a community hospital is restored to have more hospital beds]. Clarín (in Spanish). Buenos Aires. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  3. Linares Calvo, Ximena (30 May 2004). "Sería error humano lo que mató a Fabricio" [A human error is what might have killed Fabricio]. La Nación (in Spanish). Buenos Aires. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  4. Mauricio Barrientos. "Proyecto de Ley" (PDF) (in Spanish). Buenos Aires Province Chamber of Deputies.
  5. "Longchamps" (PDF) (in Spanish). Municipalidad de Almirante Brown.
  6. Linares Calvo, Ximena (29 May 2004). "En Longchamps. Murió un chico de dos años después de recibir vacunas" [In Longchamps. A two year-old died after being vaccinated]. La Nación (in Spanish). Buenos Aires. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  7. "Descartaron que nene haya muerto por una vacuna" [It was ruled out that the vaccine could have killed the boy]. Ámbito Financiero (in Spanish). Buenos Aires. 30 May 2004. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  8. Lipcovich, Pedro (29 May 2004). "Un nene de tres años muerto tras recibir dos vacunas en Longchamps" [A three year-old dead after receiving two vaccines in Longchamps]. Página 12 (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  9. "En Longchamps bregan por recuperar el hospital vecinal Burgwardt" [In Longchamps they fight to recover the Burgwardt neighborhood hospital]. Diario Popular (in Spanish). 14 October 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  10. "Los responsables del Burgwardt se niegan a retirar la antena" [Responsibles of the Burgwardt refuse to dismantle the antenna]. Noticias de Brown (in Spanish). 24 November 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  11. "El HCD exigió retirar antena y recuperar el Hospital Burgwardt" [The City Council demanded the antenna to be dismantled and the Burwardt Hospital recovered]. Noticias de Brown (in Spanish). 10 October 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  12. "Comenzaron a desmantelar la antena del hospital Burgwardt" [Dismantling of the antenna begun]. Diario La Tercera (Buenos Aires) (in Spanish). 21 May 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
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