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Machado Ventura Commemorates the Founding of Lenin Hospital

Commander José Ramón Machado Ventura, along with directors and staff of the Vladimir Ilich Lenin University Teaching Hospital, commemorated the 60th anniversary of the institution. The first hospital founded by the Revolution in eastern Cuba.

Amalia Pupo Zúñiga, director of the Lenin Hospital, expressed her gratitude this Friday for the Commander’s visit, noting that he has been part of the history of this healthcare giant in Holguin. From his presence at the inauguration ceremony to his contributions to the country’s public health system.

Photos from that era show the historical leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, attentively listening to the speech by Dr. José Ramón Machado Ventura. Who was serving as Minister of Public Health at the time. On that day, Dr. Machado Ventura explained the process of growth in medical care in the country and the expansion of its institutions.

During his visit, Machado recalled the importance of this center to the Cuban healthcare system and the friendly relations with the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Moreover which made the hospital’s creation posible. Highlighting its numerous achievements in surgical and clinical work.

He emphasized the internationally recognized training of the doctors and underscored the advancements in specialties such as epidemiology and neonatology.

The Lenin Hospital was inaugurated on the evening of November 7th, 1965, after several years of construction. In a ceremony attended by Avalik I. Burnaziam, then Deputy Minister of Public Health of the former Soviet Union.

Initially, it had 900 beds, 150 doctors, 450 nurses, 50 technicians, and administrative staff, for a total of nearly 1,000 employees. The construction cost was approximately 6.6 million pesos.

For its construction, the people of Holguin donated more than 56,000 hours of volunteer labor, and the hospital was christened by Fidel Castro himself as a symbol of fraternity and solidarity.

With information from the Cuban News Agency

Radio Angulo
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