This post is closed loop that is the subject of health cooperatives in Costa Rica, explained how the Integrated Health Cooperative RL the Consortium Consalud rescued from a financial crisis to the first private hospital that was born outside the Metropolitan Area, the District Quesada, Canton of San Carlos in Alajuela Province. Currently this Hospital is the first of such Cooperative, for those who administer the Health Co concessions are managed by cooperatives but publicly owned.
The Mount Sinai Hospital
The first private hospital that was born outside the metropolitan area in the district of Quesada (San Carlos Canton), appeared in 1993, involving than 80 shareholders, of which only 17 were physicians, in that sense, despite being a corporation, was characterized as a community initiative, as it joined various social and productive in the area. The hospital has since then all the services offered in any other medical facility, such as outpatient, emergency, internment delivery rooms, operating rooms, mammography, x-rays, among many others.
financial problems
Since its very beginning and throughout the years the hospital had multiple problems. Originally the project was worth ¢ 40 million (Or $ 76,923) and ended more than ¢ 100 million (or $ 192,308), which far exceeded the project's feasibility and left them, from the beginning with a huge debt. The infrastructure for the period were too many for the population of its catchment area, which was exacerbated by the lack of culture of the inhabitants of the region for private medicine, as people formed the view that an entity elitist and inaccessible economy.
One difficulty was the lack of administrative capacity (due to the lack of professionals in the area of \u200b\u200bhealth service management) to lead an organization of health and lack vision of the medical profession on how to conduct themselves in a private hospital, which was aggravated by poor workmanship, which was almost the same as Public Hospital (Hospital de San Carlos), limiting the availability of professional service. Thus, low customer, the restriction on the availability of services and the high financial burden for a debt of over ¢ 300 million (U.S. $ 578,000 approx.) Crisis in 1999 led to the institution.
After this financial crisis, the shareholders of the hospital began looking for alternatives to get out of economic problems. Two years later, after making fruitless to various entities, contacted the National Council of Cooperatives (CONACOOP) which in turn was able to interest the consortium Consalud RL on a project to save the hospital. Consalud RL performed the feasibility study supported by the National Institute for Cooperative Development (INFOCOOP) , in which it was determined that the Northern Zone is the second nationally with the worst health conditions which was crucial to agree on April 26, 2002 the decision to undertake actions aimed at cooperativize the hospital by an agreement of transfer of ownership to Consalud RL, which will become effective when the latter cancels the debt that was dragging the hospital for ¢ 300 million (U.S. $ 578,000 approx.) the Cooperative Savings-Credit "Coocique" entity until then retain ownership of the shares by the figure of trust.
The Hospital Cooperative
In June 2003, RL Consalud began administering the hospital and after negotiating the debt and start the process to arrange the payment with Cooperative "Coocique" , an institution which holds the shares pledged, in December year Consalud Hospital officially reopened with a new name "Cooperative Hospital San Carlos Borromeo" making it the first health center in Central Cooperative. In July 2004, after canceling the first ¢ 24 million (or $ 46,153) of ¢ 300 million (U.S. $ 578,000 approx.) Costing the hospital, the Consortium of Cooperative Health - Consalud RL, signed a contract for use of the Hospital, as a first step of the purchase of this medical center, the contract determines that while INFOCOOP approved total financing cost of the hospital, Coocique cooperative authorizing Consalud to give the use they see fit to benefit the population of the Northern and visitors who come to these locations.
Care Model: Alternative and Complementary System Health
The original idea with the Cooperative Project, being the only private hospital in rural areas of the country is open to all citizens of North Huetar to create a new cooperative with broad participation, where the benefits obtained for members to receive medical services deprived of excellent quality at lower rates than the private market and even with the possibility of funding, which is an excellent mechanism for low-income families. For this purpose, Consalud approaches forward in 2003 with the various unions, development associations, organizations and businesses with the aim of explaining the project's scope and to make agreements that allow the participation of partners and employees of these in the new cooperative health. Similarly, it seeks to sign agreements with the Social Security Fund , to provide additional services to which is already offered in the area. Pending sealed the purchase process, Consalud RL have the hospital as the basis for operations of this system for Complementary and Alternative Health, with emphasis on hospital use by the cooperative specialized health services and social organizations. By June 2004, the hospital served about 70 people per day who offered services in all medical and other support services as laboratory, pharmacy, X-rays, among others. Consalud seeks to promote services to more people in order to cut costs, they must maintain a center open, with all services, 24 hours a day.
In this regard, in February 2005, Consalud made an agreement with the Savings and Credit Cooperative of Ciudad Quesada (Coocique RL), which involves the application of discounts of between 10 and 15 percent for health services to partners Coocique Cooperative received in the Hospital or other medical centers Consalud is in the Metropolitan Area, also Coocique opened a credit line to immediately, with interest at 23 percent annually and maximum terms of 5 years to finance medical treatments and hospitalizations. Consalud representatives hoped to establish similar agreements with other cooperatives and solidarity.
also proposed health promotion and disease prevention, through exhibitions that could be done in the medium term, taking into account the health of the Social Security Fund have problems of saturation in emergency rooms and waiting lists, and therefore, private medicine emerged as an alternative.
Area Cooperative Hospital service.
The Hospital is located in Ciudad Quesada, Costa Ricans also known as San Carlos. This is a small town but one of the major business centers and exchanges, to 2004 the population was 36,365 inhabitants. Ciudad Quesada is one hour by car (95 miles) north of the capital San José in the canton of San Carlos.
The canton of San Carlos is integrated into the North Huetar , which also includes the cantons of Guatuso, Los Chiles and Upala the province of Alajuela, canton of Sarapiqui Province de Heredia. In addition, the districts of San Isidro de Peñas Blancas, Río Cuarto de Grecia and Sarapiqui in the province of Alajuela. It has an area of \u200b\u200b9,603.4 km ² which equates to 18.4% of the country. In selecting this region as a special topic deprived two main criteria: (1) The request made to the project by civil society organizations in the region interested in a study to identify development trends and regional challenges and (2) the Huetar recognition of the North as one of the most dynamic country in the last ten years has developed as social productive, institutional and environmental concerns. According to Population Census 2004, the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC), the total population of North Huetar is approximately 243,031 inhabitants, the San Carlos canton which has a large number of people . Technorati tags: hospital cooperative, consortium Consalud , health cooperatives, northern region Huetar, Costa Rica , Quesada
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