- Gorgas Hospital
-
Gorgas Hospital 
Gorgas Hospital Geography Location Ancón, Panama, Panama city, Panama, Panama Services Beds 143 History Founded 1904 Closed 1997 Links Lists Hospitals in Panama Gorgas Hospital was a U.S. Army hospital in Panama City, Panama named for Army Surgeon General William C. Gorgas (1854-1920).
Built on the site of an earlier French hospital called L'Hospital Notre Dame de Canal, it was originally (1904) christened Ancon Hospital by the Americans. It was originally built of wood, but was rebuilt in concrete in 1915 by Samuel Hitt. It was renamed Gorgas Hospital in 1928.
Gorgas Hospital is located on Ancon Hill. It was managed by the U.S. Army for most of the 20th century but is now, in accordance with the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, in Panamanian hands. Since October 1999, it has been home to the Instituto Oncologico Nacional, Panama's Ministry of Health and the Supreme Court.
Contents
History
Early years (1904-1928)
The French canal company built the first hospital, regarded as the finest and most modern in the tropics, at Ancon Hill as well as a smaller hospital at Colon and a convalescent sanitarium at Tabago. The location on the hill was chosen as the elevation maximized the exposure to healthy breezes and maximized the distance from the sewage and slums of Panama City. The hospital was placed under control of Dr. Louis Companyo, the former head of sanitation at the Suez Canal.[1] However a lack of understanding of the role of mosquitoes resulted in massive outbreaks of malaria and yellow fever which besieged the hospital where at times the death rate of patients was estimated at 75%.[2]
When the American government bought the French canal company in 1904, the Ancon hospital was an important asset. Under Dr. William C. Gorgas, the hospital was expanded and modernized but remained the same basic structure as the French hospital. Critical improvements involved door and window screens and sealed rooms to ease fumigation. The hospital played a major role in lowering death rates during the canal construction.
Expansion and later years (1928-1997)
During Operation Just Cause (1989)
During the Panama crisis which ultimately ended in the 1989 Panama Invasion (Operation "Just Cause") Gorgas Army Community Hospital, as it was then called, found itself regulalry in crisis. Bomb threats occurred several times a week and during one incident, Panamanian demonstrators occupied an empty parking lot nearby and threatened the facility. On October 3, 1989, a coup attempt by members of the Panama Defense Forces (PDF) to oust General Manuel Noriega led to a street fight which wound up occurring literally across the street from the Gorgas hospital complex.
Navy Lieutenant Roberto Paz, whose death at the hand of Panamanian paramilitaies (or possibly the PDF) ultimately led to the "Just Cause" invasion, was brought to Gorgas after being shot. PDF military police and regular PDF military forces began taking up threatening positions around the hospital shortly after Lt. Paz was brought in. A show of force by Military Police from the 534th MP Company caused the PDF to pull back.
On the night of the actual invasion, as US troops were attacking "La Commandancia" (PDF Headquarters) only a few blocks away, the Gorgas complex was attacked directly by a small group of Panama Defense Forces (PDF) troops who were attempting to take hostages. This attack was repelled by Military Police on site, who were later reinforced by MPs from the 511th MP Company (Ft. Drum, New York) and Infantry from the 4th Battalion, 6th Infantry, 5th Infantry Division (Fort Polk, Louisiana). For several days, the hospital came under random fire from shootouts in Panama City, as well as deliberate sniper attacks and at least one mortar attack. Although military invasion plans had not accounted for its use, Gorgas became a default location for the collection of US, PDF, and civilian wounded. The first American casualty of Operation: Just Cause, Corporal Ivan Perez of the 4th Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division, was brought to Gorgas via civilian ambulance after being mortally wounded in Quarry Heights.
Transfer to Panamanian control (1997-present)
Notables associated with Ancon/Gorgas Hospital
- William Gorgas
- George Whipple
- Theodore C. Lyster
References
See also
- List of former United States Army medical units
External links
- A Gorgas Hospital Photo Gallery
- Medicine in the Panama Canal Zone: The Samuel Taylor Darling Memorial Library Archives
- Mellander, Gustavo A.; Nelly Maldonado Mellander (1999). Charles Edward Magoon: The Panama Years. Río Piedras, Puerto Rico: Editorial Plaza Mayor. ISBN 1-56328-155-4. OCLC 42970390.
- Mellander, Gustavo A. (1971). The United States in Panamanian Politics: The Intriguing Formative Years. Danville, Ill.: Interstate Publishers. OCLC 138568
Categories:- Hospitals in Panama
- Former United States Army medical facilities
- Former United States Army facilities
- Panama City
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
