The Dr. Horacio E. Oduber Hospital (abbreviated as HOH) is a 320-bed hospital on the island of Aruba, founded in 1976 by the non-profit foundation Stichting Ziekenverpleging Aruba. It is the one of two hospitals on the island.
History
The hospital is named after the first Aruban physician, who treated patients at his home (Quinta del Carmen) before the first hospital (San Pedro de Verona) was opened by catholic nuns in 1920. San Pedro de Verona hospital was converted into a nursing home in 1977 when Dr. Horacio Oduber Hospital started receiving its first patients. Between 1938 and 1985 the Lago oil refinery in San Nicolas owned a second hospital, who served primarily its employees, their families and privately insured citizens. It wasn't until 1985 when the Lago hospital was closed, that HOH served as the only hospital on the island for the next 35 years, until April 2021, when Instituto Medico San Nicolas (ImSan) expended to a 22-bed in-patient facility.[19]
HOH is a modern medical facility and a level III trauma center.
Location and accessibility
HOH is located in the area of Eagle Beach in Oranjestad, Aruba, right in front of the low-rise hotel area, and within 5 minutes of the high-rise hotel-strip at Palm Beach. The hospital is easily accessible by major highways, including the Sasaki-corridor and the Kibaima-Tanki Flip roadway, which connects the largest urban areas of Aruba. The furthest urban areas are within 25 minutes of HOH by ground ambulance, while the distance to most rural areas can be up to 45 minutes by road. The hospital has an active helipad with all procedures in place to receive patients by police and coastguard helicopters.
Medical staff
The medical facilities available at the hospital include family medicine, general surgery, internal medicine, neurology, neuro-surgery, orthopedic surgery, pediatrics, genecology, cardiology, intervention cardiology, nephrology, gastro-enterology, anesthesiology, ophthalmology, bariatric surgery, otolaryngology, psychiatry, oncology, pathology, intensive care medicine, plastic surgery, dermatology, obstetrics, pulmonology, radiology and urology. Specialized physicians are either contracted by HOH or work privately as independent consultants. HOH and the public health insurance company AZV have agreements in place to refer patients to ImSan in San Nicolas, for selected oncology and ophthalmology treatments, including surgical procedures and radiotherapy.
Aruba does not offer any undergraduate medical training. All physicians at HOH are graduates of medical schools in Europe (mainly the Netherlands) or Latin America. However HOH collaborates with Dutch universities and university medical centers for short-term placements of medical students and resident physicians, as well as the post-graduate training of family physicians.[20]
Nurses are from selected Dutch universities of applied sciences and a locally established vocational nursing school. Post-graduate nursing training including the Dutch specialist diploma programs in Intensive Care nursing or Emergency Care Nursing are organized periodically in collaboration with Dutch university hospitals.
The nursing and paramedical staff at HOH include individuals from Europe, Latin America and Central America, which creates a unique multi-lingual environment. Patients and staff communicate in English, Dutch, Spanish and Papiamento. The official language of documentation is Dutch and English.
Services
Diagnostic departments
Electrophysiology, ultrasound, x-ray, mammography, CAT-scan, MRI, performance tests, laparoscopy, endoscopy, bronchoscopy, coronary angiography, pathology, serology, clinical chemistry, microbiology, among others.
Treatment facilities
Rehabilitation center, physical therapy unit, obstetrical unit, walk-in clinic, emergency department, out-patient clinic, wound care center, diabetes center, pain clinic, oncology day-care unit, surgical theater (5 operating rooms), blood bank, Cath lab, post-anesthesia unit.
Admission departments
Psychiatric unit, intensive care unit, medium care unit, coronary care unit, short-stay center, medical wards, surgical wards, isolation nursing units, multiple specialty wards, maternity ward, pediatric ward, basic neonatological care.