The Vitebsk Regional Infectious Diseases Hospital's treatment building has reopened after modernization

The renovated treatment facility is designed for 79 beds. The four floors will house the admission, isolation, pediatric respiratory, and pediatric and adult intestinal infection departments, as well as a high-tech PCR laboratory. The facility is equipped to provide isolated admission for patients with various infectious pathologies.

The grand opening of the renovated treatment facility of the regional clinical infectious diseases hospital took place in Vitebsk after modernization.

"This facility is undoubtedly important for the Vitebsk region. It is a powerful resource that supports the study and prevention of infectious diseases," noted Dmitry Pinevich, First Deputy Minister of Health of Belarus, during the opening ceremony. "We recently adopted a systemic regulatory document on antibiotic resistance. The development of medical science in the Vitebsk region, and particularly the cluster approach in the production of medical drugs, is largely based on this. This facility will also contribute to the production of domestic medicinal products."

The modernization of treatment facility No. 1 of the infectious diseases hospital began in 2011 and was included in the regional investment program. Over Br50 billion from the regional budget has been utilized, with over Br32 billion allocated for construction and installation work. The customer for the work was the Capital Construction Department of the Regional Executive Committee, and the contractor was the production and construction commercial enterprise "Belimpex." "This hospital provides us with all the necessary resources to treat patients with particularly dangerous infections and various types of diseases. Globalization is ongoing, people are moving, and just a year ago, the possibility of Ebola fever being imported here was being considered. Therefore, such medical resources are essential. Currently, the region has a sufficient number of beds. There are even surplus beds in the districts, but they must be deployed in case of an epidemic," explained Yuri Derkach, head of the healthcare department of the Regional Executive Committee. He added that thanks to the high degree of population immunization, the region has not experienced a flu epidemic for over four years, with only sporadic cases. The epidemic threshold has also not been exceeded this season.

The renovated treatment building is designed for 79 beds. The four floors will house the admission, isolation, and pediatric respiratory departments, departments for intestinal infections for children and adults, as well as a high-tech PCR laboratory. The facility ensures the possibility of isolated admission of patients with various infectious pathologies: three admission and examination boxes, a sanitary checkpoint, a restroom, and a vestibule for waiting for a doctor's appointment. Nine isolation rooms with separate entrances have been equipped. The modernization of the healthcare institution will not end here: the next stage will be the renovation of the second building.

In 2015, 34 healthcare facilities were commissioned in the region, with Br120 billion spent, and medical equipment worth Br170 billion was purchased. The implementation of new types of medical care using complex and unique technologies continued. "Currently, the region's doctors have everything necessary to provide medical care, meet all standards, reduce mortality, and improve the quality of public services," noted Yuri Derkach. The infectious disease hospital in Vitebsk was founded in 1917. By the beginning of the new century, it had become a multidisciplinary and specialized center for all infectious diseases. The hospital serves as a training base for the Vitebsk State Medical University. In 2004, a consultative and dispensary office was opened, which provides highly qualified medical and consultative care to HIV-infected individuals and AIDS patients, and also manages the registration and dispensary observation of this group of patients. The Vitebsk Regional Clinical Infectious Diseases Hospital (UZ "VOKIB") treats approximately 9,000 patients annually, half of whom are children.

Ekaterina Knyazeva, BELTA.