Auxilio Mutuo Hospital, legally the Hospital Español Auxilio Mutuo de Puerto Rico Inc., which is owned by Sociedad Española de Auxilio Mutuo y Beneficencia (Auxilio Mutuo Spanish Hospital of Puerto Rico, Inc., and Spanish Society of Mutual Help) is a tertiary level

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

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

The hospital is located in the San Juan area of

Rio Piedras Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Fl ...

History

The hospital was established in 1882. Back then, Puerto Rico was still a province of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, and San Juan was, and still is, the largest urban center of the Island. At the time, there was no such thing as health insurance as is known today. Seeing this, the hospital's founders, Candido Carrero, Gorgonio Bolivar, Ricardo Alonso, Higinio Troncoso, Pedro Comas, Antonio Acha and A. David Gonzalez, came up with the idea of establishing the Island's first mutual assistance organization, the Sociedad Española de Auxilio Mutuo y Beneficencia, with an initial composition of 187 members who financed the construction of the hospital. The hospital was inaugurated in September 1883 at Fortaleza street in San Juan. It is now located in a large medical campus adjacent to the Rio Piedras Campus of the University of Puerto Rico. In July 2024, the hospital announced it had discovered a breach to their internet network which took place during 2023. There is no evidence that personal patient information, including medical and diagnosis records, was removed.

Deaths

*Cardinal Luis Aponte Martinez, (1922–2012) *

Walter Mercado Walter Mercado Salinas (March 9, 1931 – November 2, 2019), also known by his stage name Shanti Ananda, was a Puerto Rican astrologer, actor, dancer, and writer, best known as a television personality for his shows as an astrologer. His astro ...

, (1932–2019) *

Helena Montalban Helena Montalban (15 May, 1926 in Bahia Blanca, Argentina-2 March, 1991 in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico) was an Argentine-Puerto Rican theater, film and telenovela actress, producer and talk show host. Montalban, who also worked as an actress in Colo ...

(1926–1991) * Dr. Johnny Rullán, former Puerto Rico Secretary of Health (1955–2019)

References

1883 establishments in Puerto Rico Buildings and structures in San Juan, Puerto Rico {{PuertoRico-struct-stub