Hospital Dr. Tony Facio Castro, known as Hospital Tony Facio, in

Limón Limón (), commonly known as Puerto Limón, is a district, the capital city and main hub of Limón province, as well as of the Limón canton in Costa Rica. It is the seventh largest city in Costa Rica, with a population of over 55,000, and is ho ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

, caters to the health needs of

Limón Province Limón (), commonly known as Puerto Limón, is a district, the capital city and main hub of Limón province, as well as of the Limón canton in Costa Rica. It is the seventh largest city in Costa Rica, with a population of over 55,000, and is ho ...

."Quienes Somos: Hospital Regional Dr. Tony Facio Castro"
''Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social''. Retrieved: 2012-03-07. The hospital occupies 22,000 square metres and is divided into modules including hospitalization and outpatient facilities. It provides specialized services in some areas of the cantons of Pococí, Guácimo, and the Cariari district for a combined population of 166,723 inhabitants in those areas. It services three population categories: direct population (236,565 people directly attached or assigned to the hospital), indirect population (not directly allocated but are referred by specialists), and floating population (other unattached people and tourists). The direct population comes from

(city),

Siquirres Siquirres is a district of the Siquirres canton, in the Limón province of Costa Rica. It is a center of commerce and has most of the services for the area's locals. Toponymy The name is derived from a native word meaning reddish colored. His ...

, Talamanca, and Matina. The indirect population is from Pococí, Guácimo, and the Cariari district; and the floating population comprises national and international immigrants into the area, and tourists. The hospital commemorates Dr. Tony Facio (29 October 1918 – 20 December 1948), a native of Puerto Limón born as Maximiliano Antonio de la Paz Facio Castro, son of Dr. Antonio Facio Ulloa and Cristina Castro Carazo, who died at the age of 30. The Hospital San Juan de Dios in San José also has a medical research centre named "Doctor Antonio Facio Castro" dedicated in the late 1940s to the "illustrious doctor who died tragically at a young age."

Location

Hospital Tony Facio occupies most of a small peninsula protruding into the Caribbean Sea on the northeast side of Limón, about 0.75 km from the town centre. It is right on the coast and looks out at

Uvita Island Uvita Island, or Isla Uvita (Spanish: "little grape island"), officially Isla Quiribrí, is a small island offshore of the port at Limón on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. The island is long from north to south and wide, northwest to sou ...

1.5 km offshore, and across a small bay to Parque Vargas, a municipal park 0.8 km to the south.

Epidemics

Along with smaller local clinics, the hospital treats regional

dengue fever Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms typically begin three to fourteen days after infection. These may include a high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pains, and a characterist ...

outbreaks during the rainy season; the outbreaks sometimes cause bed shortages.

Crime

The hospital operates in a high crime city,New crime index ranks Costa Rica's most dangerous cantons, but data are from 2011
The Tico Times, 2014-02-21. Quote: "The report 'IX Cantonal Analysis of Violence and Insecurity in Costa Rica''..shows that four of the five cantons with the highest crime rates were located in the Caribbean region: Limón (Central), Pococí, Matina and Talamanca. and treats victims of violence and shootings."New security plan aims to cut crime in Limón"
''A.M. Costa Rica'', 2009-10-15.
''A.M. Costa Rica'', 2007-05-11. Gunmen entered the hospital on 10 May 2007 and assassinated a patient on the second floor who was recovering from bullet wounds received three days earlier during a gun battle with police in Limón. Several doctors and nurses at Tony Facio were subjected to a continuing campaign of extortion for over a year in 2008–9 when organized criminals acquired personal details about staff, including home addresses and names of family members. Threats and extortive demands were made against hospital personnel, including death threats, causing some of them to leave their jobs and depriving the hospital of critical expertise.
''A.M. Costa Rica'', 2009-02-02.
''A.M. Costa Rica'', 2009-08-17. Police arrested a surgical nurse working at the hospital and said he was the source of personal data used by the extortionists.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Hospitals in Costa Rica Buildings and structures in Limón Province