Background of the Project

Brazil's constitution provides free healthcare for all citizens. However, in some areas, government budgets can’t keep up with community needs, meaning there are no hospitals nearby, or even if there are, they can't provide critical care.
In the Pantanal Region of South Mato Grosso, Brazil, where BRIDGE has been active, there are no community hospitals that can accept more than moderately ill patients.

"Efforts to Solve these Problems"

An entirely new approach is needed to solve these problems.
Dr. Reiko Moribe runs Centro de Diagnostico Medico, a local charitable corporation. The corporation challenges itself to manage public hospitals in ways that aren’t reliant on the government and that involve NPOs. Moribe submitted a plan to the state government to operate Pantanal Regional Hospital through the use of this charitable corporation. After receiving approval, the hospital has now become integrated into the regional health care plan. 60% of the hospital’s patients will have public health insurance and 40% will have private insurance. It will therefore provide public health care and contribute to local communities, while also meeting the sophisticated needs of more affluent patients.
BRIDGE is supporting this project in collaboration with Kochi University through providing human and financial resources.

Pantanal Regional Hospital Construction Project

Our problem Solving Efforts

Pantanal Regional Hospital will be centered around the basic departments of internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, and pediatrics, acting as a training hospital for the four medical schools in the state. In cooperation with the Kochi Medical School, an optical treatment center that can provide endoscopic diagnosis and treatment will also be established, becoming a hub for minimally invasive treatment.
The hospital will also provide standby orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, otolaryngology, and ophthalmology surgeries, for which there is a particularly high need throughout the state. The layout of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and operating rooms have been designed with advanced technology to ensure sufficient space.

Background of the Project

Brazil's constitution provides free healthcare for all citizens. However, in some areas, government budgets can’t keep up with community needs, meaning there are no hospitals nearby, or even if there are, they can't provide critical care.
In the Bonito region of South Mato Grosso, Brazil, where BRIDGE has been active, there are no community hospitals that can accept more than moderately ill patients.

Rendering

Pantanal Regional Hospital was designed by Professor Celso Costa. The professor is a protégé of Oscar Niemeyer who was famous for designing the presidential palace in Brasilia. Professor Costa has now designed 70 hospitals. Incorporating Brazil’s Catholic roots, the hospital has been designed in the shape of a dove, a symbol of the spirit of healing.

Rendering

Out of the hospital’s 120 beds, 72 are reserved for those with public health insurance, and 48 for those with private insurance. This enables the hospital to be operated in a stable manner. 

A Medical spa for Affluent Patients
The hospital also features a medical spa, helping to support the revitalization of the local economy.