The evangelical hospital of Barcelona has just opened new premises in the city coinciding with its 145th anniversary.

The intermediate care centre serves as a link between primary care and acute hospitals, and has sub-acute, palliative, convalescence and long-stay units.

After two and a half years of construction, the new hospital is twice the size of the old one, with more than ten thousand square metres and 200 beds.

“Having these new and up-to-date facilities for the evangelical people, as well as being a service to the city and to our society, gives us a very clear visibility within the life of the city”, Francisco Mira, president of the evangelical hospital foundation, tells Spanish television program Buenas Noticias TV.

Public recognition

It has received the recognition of the manager of the Barcelona Health Consortium, Jaume Estany, that highlights the involvement of those responsible for the hospital, “who have even been able to get into debt to make this new evangelical hospital possible”.

For the manager of the health district where the hospital is located, Josep García, “the arrival of an institution that has combined all its technology and modern health care in the best possible way while respecting its heritage, is great news”.

Innovation

Patients now enjoy facilities that stand out for their brightness and space, as well as their sustainability and cutting-edge technology.

One of its innovations is the so-called “empathic room", which aims to make the patient feel almost as if they were in a single room.

“Usually in double rooms the beds are next to each other and people have to turn their heads to talk to each other, here they are on the opposite side, which makes communication much easier”, explains the director of the hospital, Jesús Alburquerque.

Multidisciplinary team and volunteers

The hospital has a multidisciplinary team, made up of doctors, nurses, psychologists, occupational therapists, social workers and physiotherapists.

They attend elderly people with advanced dementia who are waiting for a place in a nursing home, terminally or chronically ill patients with complex symptomatology, and patients recovering from medical or surgical illnesses or who require a short stay in hospital.

Furthermore, they “have two types of volunteers, the recurrent ones, who accompany patients and families and take care of their emotional and social needs, and also for spiritual care. And then there are people who come when the institution needs them”, explains Reyes Gualda, general director of the Evangelical Care Group.

Following the example of Jesus

In the next five years, ahead of its 150th anniversary, the entity hopes to grow with home care projects, residences, supervised flats and the creation of a School of Compassion to train professionals to treat patients as humanely and closely as possible.

“From the beginning, the motivation of those who came before us was not only to share the gospel, which is a priority for us, but also to be sensitive to the real health needs that we all have. In that sense, the example of Jesus is wonderful, he taught and preached, but he also healed”, stresses Mira.

Since 1879

The third oldest hospital in Barcelona was founded in 1879 to look after evangelicals who were marginalised from the official system and, little by little, it began to serve the rest of the population.

It played a key role in the civil war and later, during the persecution of Franco dictatorship, it avoided being closed down by placing its administration under the protection of consulates of countries with a Protestant tradition.

“For us it is a reason for joy, satisfaction and also gratitude to the Lord because from that first rented flat to help people with health needs in the neighbourhood, we have come after several stages, to this moment. We see how the Lord multiplies from something small, from giving him two fish and five loaves”, points out Mira.