FIRST YEARS OF THE HOSPITAL

 

La Fe Hospital started to be built in 1968. The land that was chosen for its construction was located between the industrial zone of Campanar and la acequia de Mestalla, next to the road that goes to Burjassot. To locate the hospital and its accesses it was necessary to divert the irrigation ditches and expropriate some neighboring private lands. One of the first problems to face was the eviction of the families who were living in seven properties located in this land. Most of the homeowners accepted without any problem the compensation that it was offered to them by the Spanish Ministry of Housing for the expropriation of their houses, with the exception of the owners of a dairy and a pickling factory, as they demanded a very special condition to transfer their lands: they wanted to obtain a post in the health center as attendant and gardener.

 

The Ministerial Order that regulates the obtainment of the job post in the then called Ciudad Sanitaria La Fe stipulated as requirement to obtain this posts being younger than 40 years. However, in the case of these two owners, their ages were 49 and 54 years respectively, so it had to be made an exception, because they refused to evict their houses if the conditions were not accepted.

A now extinct sanitary institution called Instituto Nacional de Previsión (National Welfare System) approved a budget of 870.588.440 pesetas (around 500,000 euros) for the construction of this health center.  With this money it was carried out the construction of the hospital, the parking, the Emergencies Services, the warehouses adapted for the radioactive isotope, the Midwife and Nursing school, Maternity, the Children's clinic, the general stores, the research laboratories and the Centre of Investigation.

 

In order to choose the name for this new Sanitary City, Dr. Mr. Vicente Luis Peris Carpena, Provincial Chief of the Compulsory Health Insurance, suggested in 1966 a short and easy name as La Paz and he even expressed his interest in finding a much shorter name. Dr. Mr. Manuel Pérez Sánchez, Secretary of the Board of Directors of the aforementioned I.N.P., provided the solution after telling this idea to his family. His mother-in-law, aged 70, answered him that La Fe is much shorter than La Paz.

 

Another anecdote about the story of this hospital came up in relation with the construction of the parking. In 1969, the Spanish Ministry of Housing offered to Mr. Joaquín Deusa Soldevilla, the Provincial Director of the National Welfare Institute, the massive land that currently occupies the Bus Station (right next to the sanitary center) to be used as parking for workers and patients of the hospital.

 

The price of this transfer was one peseta (less than one cent) for each inch. However, Mr. Joaquín Deusa kindly declined this offer because he thought that there would be enough space with the current land of the parking. At that time it was hard to imagine that nowadays the number of vehicles per inhabitant it would be as high.

 

THE HOSPITAL ACTIVITY IN ITS BEGINNINGS

The activity in this Hospital during its first years was far different from now, in terms of volume and the type of assistance (much more based on hospitalization). As an example, here is a detailed activity of the General Residence and the Rehabilitation Centre during 1969.

 

 

GENERAL RESIDENCE 1969

 

HOSPITALIZATION:

Hospitalized patients: 17,270

Number of stays: 200,617

Average stays/patient: 11,61

Percentage utilization rate: 54,91

Patients of Medicine and Medical Specialties: 3,642

Patients of Surgery and Surgical Specialties: 13,628

 

EMERGENCIES SERVICE:

Total number of Assisted Patients: 24,107

Hospitalized Patients: 14,705

Assisted patients in outpatient basis: 9,402

 

SURGICAL INTERVENTIONS:

With programmed hospitalization: 4,172

With emergency hospitalization: 6,960

Without hospitalization: 2,321

Total number of intervened patients: 13,453

 

EXTERNAL CONSULTATIONS:

Assisted patients by the department of Medicine: 1,547

Assisted patients by the department of Surgery: 5,992

Total number of assisted patients: 7,539

Consultations in the department of Medicine: 4,408

Consultations in the department of Surgery: 17,065

Total number of consultations: 21,473

 

REHABILITATION CENTRE (1969)

 

HOSPITALIZATION:

Hospitalized patients: 466

Number of stays: 10,056

Average patients/stay: 21,58

Average rate of utilization: 27,89

 

SURGICAL INTERVENTIONS:

Total number of operated patients: 191

 

EXTERNAL CONSULTATIONS:

Total number of attended patients: 1,114

Orthopedics Department: 228

Plastic Surgery Department: 515

Rehabilitation Department: 371

Total number of visits: 2,893

Orthopedics Department: 625

Plastic Surgery Department: 1,410

Rehabilitation Department: 858

 

HEMOTHERAPY:

Total number in liters of transfused blood: 14