Although the original deadline was January 2nd, the Maternity Service of the Calderón Guardia hospital will remain closed indefinitely, according to the director of the medical center, Dr. Pedro Pereira.
According to the official, they will use the suspension of childbirth care to complete some maintenance work that had not been possible while the service was open, due to the large number of people being served. The maintenance works involve processes such as painting, changing the ceiling and repairing walls that had cracks, following earthquakes.
The medical center suspended birth care on December 13th, after they detected the presence of the bacteria called Serriata liquefaciens, which is lodged in the intestines and causes fever and chills, among other symptoms.
This is the first time that the presence of these bacteria is reported in that hospital and its appearance coincides with the death of six premature babies in conditions of great vulnerability.
According to Dr. Pereira, there are no new cases of babies with said bacteria, they only have eight children (one of them has the bacteria), who were born prematurely before the closure was carried out.
The Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS) had indicated on the day that the closure was announced, that they would have to investigate if the deaths of the babies were related to the appearance of the bacteria.
However, Dr. Pereira said they are still waiting for the Pathology, but that
the bacteria cannot be directly blamed for the death of those babies, since they were premature children who had other associated conditions, such as their low weight, undeveloped lungs or weak immune system[…]”
The reopening of the Maternity and Neonatology Services will depend on the maintenance work and it will be communicated in a timely manner by the hospital authorities.