The Hospital del Salvador is a

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

in central

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. The hospital is located in the commune of Providencia.

History

The hospital was founded on December 7, 1871, during the presidency of

Federico Errázuriz Zañartu Federico Marcos del Rosario Errázuriz Zañartu (; April 25, 1825 – July 20, 1877) was a Chilean political figure. He served as the president of Chile between 1871 and 1876. Biography He was born in Santiago in 1825, of Basque descent. He studi ...

, in response to the high number of deaths caused by epidemics in Santiago. The foundation stone was laid on the site of the former

Mercedarian The Royal, Celestial and Military Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of the Captives ( la, Ordo Beatae Mariae de Mercede Redemptionis Captivorum, abbreviated O. de M.), also known as the Mercedarians, is a Catholic mendicant order est ...

convent on January 1, 1872. Construction was delayed by economic problems and by the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific ( es, link=no, Guerra del Pacífico), also known as the Saltpeter War ( es, link=no, Guerra del salitre) and by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought ...

(1879–84). In 1888 a new hospital was designed by the architect Carlos Barroilhet, it was approved four years later. Part of the hospital facade was destroyed by the 1985 Chile earthquake, this was soon repaired. Also in 1985, the main facade, the chapel, the buildings, halls and the park within the building complex were declared as historical monuments. The hospital's ophthalmic trauma unit treated the majority of the eye injuries during 2019–2020 Chilean protests. On October 21, 2019, a record twenty patients with eye injuries arrived at the hospital, ten within one hour.

References

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Salvador Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...

Hospitals established in 1871 Buildings and structures in Santiago Metropolitan Region 1871 establishments in Chile