Argentine Air Force Mobile Field Hospital | |
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Geography | |
Location | Government of Argentina, Argentina |
Coordinates | 18°34′42″N 72°16′33″W / 18.57844°N 72.27593°W |
Organisation | |
Funding | Government hospital |
History | |
Opened | August 21, 1981 |
Links | |
Website | argentina.gob.ar/hospitalreubicable |
The Argentine Air Force Mobile Field Hospital ( Spanish: Hospital Reubicable de la Fuerza Aérea ) is a field hospital operated by the Argentine Air Force. Established on August 21, 1981, it is one of three health centres of its kind worldwide. [1]
The unit has a 64-member staff personnel between military and civilians and is made up of 14 containers Pictorial[ permanent dead link] which, when fully assembled, occupy an area of 360 m2. Fourteen flights of C-130 Hercules aircraft are needed to fully deploy the Hospital. [2]
Among the services provided by the Hospital are general clinic, surgery, dentistry, pharmacy, etc. The Hospital has its own laboratory, water purification plant and power generation engine. [2]
Thanks to its isolation, the construction can withstand temperatures from -15 to 40 degrees Celsius and can endure harsh tremors as demonstrated when it remained operational after the earthquake of January 2010 in Haiti. [1]
On January 12, 2010 while deployed at Port-au-Prince serving as medical facility for MINUSTAH troops the hospital was the only one still opened following the earthquake treating nearly 1,000 people on the first night [7] [8]
Both U.S. presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton congratulated Argentina for the Hospital quick response in the first critical hours after the earthquake [9] The same did Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her visit to Buenos Aires on 1 March 2010 [10]