• Submitted by: admin
• Havana
• Health and Medicine
• 09 / 05 / 2007

On January 9, 2007, the hospital was honored with the name of Dr. Eduardo Bernabé Ordaz Ducungé, its director for 44 years until shortly before his death.

The hospital carried out renovation work of several halls; work in the stadium and theater, as well as the creation of a beautiful botanical garden with 53 kinds of fruit tree that will specialize in cacti. This past year the facility opened the new Crisis Intervention Center with a capacity for 12 patients, and a teaching area.

Hand in hand, as is customary in the center, workers and patients have taken on these efforts to improve the quality of life of those recovering here.

The hospital, which at one time had 4,100 beds, currently has 2,800 but that number is to be reduced to 2,500 this coming January.

Director Dr. Lorenzo Somarriba López explained to the press that lowering the hospital capacity is one of the changes taking place within Cuban psychiatry, always with the Revolution as the driving force, which promotes the treatment of patients who do not require hospital admission within mental health centers in their communities, on an out-patient basis.

In each of Cuba's 169 municipalities at least one mental health center exists staffed by specially trained personnel so that patients may remain in their natural social environment, close to their families and acquaintances, which has a healthy effect on them.

The Revolution, since its triumph, has been dedicated to humanizing the treatment of the mentally ill.

Today, with the same wisdom and love as his predecessor, Somarriba and his team carry on with the great human work that Ordaz began.

Dr. Somarriba also announced that the psychiatric hospital is preparing to host participants in the 15th Sports Festival and Carnival and the 4th International Havana Psychiatric Conference, scheduled together for September 3-7 in the grounds of the hospital.

A total of 2,750 patients from 33 psychiatric hospitals and mental health centers are currently participating in the Sports Festival and Carnival Celebration, which includes competitions in track and field, chess, dominoes, baseball, volleyball, and triathlon (swimming, cycling and running). Patients will also compete in comparsas (Carnival bands and dance troupes) and conga drumming, according to HPH directors.

According to Somarriba, putting on an event of this size and scope in a psychiatric institution is "unprecedented in the world," but "It is the result of the rehabilitation work that is being done with these patients, who are the main protagonists and organizers of the events."

All the winners will be honored and, in the case of sports, gold, silver and bronze medals will be awarded. Times will be compiled since they can be considered world records, given that no other competition of this kind is known anywhere on the planet.

Dr. Ricardo González Menéndez, president of the Cuban Psychiatric Society and head of Addiction Services at HPH, emphasized how much it means to patients to have a medal placed on their chests, "It builds their self-esteem, makes them feel that they are being recognized by society and are part of it."

Another of the creations of the HPH is psycho-ballet, a group activity recognized by UNESCO, which combines dance and sports and has facilitated improvement among patients in a short space of time.