The first stone of the facilities of the Nou Hospital Evangèlic in Barcelona has been laid at a public groundbreaking ceremony attended by members of the board of trustees of the hospital and regional and local authorities.
The evangelical hospital, which is set to open in early 2023, will extend over six floors, and provide 190 intermediate healthcare beds and an outpatients department. It will succeed an existing evangelical health-care facility which dates from 1904.
Managers stressed the value that the new facility will bring to the area in which it is located, the 22@ neighbourhood in the Sant Martí district. Historically a major industrial area, it has for years been undergoing an architectural and social transformation, so it is now focused on business and financial activity. The Nou Hospital Evangèlic will be one of the few health centres in the area, filling an important gap.
President of the hospital’s Board of Trustees, Francisco Mira, highlighted four key aspects of the hospital’s service: love, which has allowed selfless dedication; trust in God’s empowerment because, he insisted, ‘we alone would not have been able to do this’; perseverance, which has been especially linked to the new project; and ‘excellence in vocation, profession and management’.
‘Its spirit is that of Jeremiah 29:7, that we should “seek the welfare of the city”. Christians are pilgrims, we know that this is not the end, but we pray to God for Barcelona and we seek the well-being of the city. We will uphold the values of holistic care and of people who take care of people, with our future hope. Soli Deo Gloria’.
Jaume Estany, manager of the Barcelona Health Consortium, on behalf of the regional Spanish government, highlighted the efforts of the Nou Hospital Evangèlic to move forward and also the fact that its new location will help cover an area lacking health facilities. ‘Intermediate care is important. This was a city project and it is very good for the people of Barcelona’, he said.
