From Ensenada, Baja California, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo led the inauguration of the first phase of the IMSS Regional General Hospital No. 23, a healthcare facility set to benefit over 318,000 registered users and representing a significant step in strengthening the region’s public health system.
In this initial phase, the hospital includes 31 beds, 32 medical specialties, 40 outpatient consultation rooms, two ambulatory surgery operating rooms, 30 hemodialysis machines, 20 chemotherapy chairs, 12 outpatient dialysis stations, and four endoscopy suites. The second phase of construction, under the supervision of the Secretariat of National Defense, is expected to be completed within 18 months, bringing the hospital’s total capacity to 216 beds.
In her speech, Sheinbaum reaffirmed her administration’s commitment to a robust and accessible public healthcare model. “Healthcare is not a privilege or a commodity; it is a right of the Mexican people, as established in Article 4 of the Constitution,” she declared. She also announced a 430-million-peso investment to strengthen the IMSS Bienestar system in Baja California.
This investment will support the full activation of surgical rooms across the state, the construction of a hemodynamics unit in Tijuana, the renovation of the Intensive Care Unit at the Mexicali Maternal and Child Hospital, and the purchase of a linear accelerator for the city’s Oncology Unit. IMSS Director Zoé Robledo reported that 162 specialists have already been hired to staff the new hospital.
The president also addressed Mexico’s relationship with the United States, stating that it will be built on “coordination and cooperation, but always as equals.” Meanwhile, Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila emphasized that this new hospital confirms that healthcare is a national priority under the current administration.
