The Second Birth of the Regional Infectious Diseases Hospital: A Large-Scale Reconstruction is Underway in Vitebsk

Vitebsk Regional Infectious Diseases Hospital is undergoing a rebirth. What has been done by the builders, hidden from our eyes, but already representing significant steps in the renovation, reconstruction, and major overhaul of one of the oldest healthcare institutions in the region, was learned by the correspondents of "VV".

The joyous event of the completion of reconstruction and repair is yet to come, but already today significant transformations are visible from Frunze Avenue: builders have completed masonry at the third-floor level of the new insert building, which will connect existing buildings No. 1 and No. 2, and have reached the technical floor. The perimeter fence of the hospital has been completely replaced. A checkpoint with a disinfection barrier has been built – thanks to it, ambulances arriving in the "dirty" zone will be treated with special disinfectants when leaving for the city. What has been done by the builders, hidden from our eyes, but already representing significant steps in the renovation, reconstruction, and major overhaul of one of the oldest healthcare institutions in the region?

– In addition to the insert building, the design documentation provides for the reconstruction of building No. 2, where window and door openings, engineering networks will be replaced, and foundation waterproofing will be performed. Plans include the construction of a modern oxygen gasification station, which will supply oxygen to the wards, – Mikhail Kazurov, head of the capital construction department of the regional executive committee, told a "VV" correspondent. – In the administrative building, the roof and floors will be reinforced, new windows and doors will be installed, and a modern pharmacy with an alarm system and an assembly hall will appear. All elevators in the building complex will be replaced, and medical equipment is being purchased. A transformer substation has already been erected, and all engineering networks on the hospital grounds have been laid. If weather conditions are favorable, work on the construction of a parking lot on the Krasnoflotskaya Street side will resume. It will be available not only to visitors of the infectious diseases hospital but also to the Emergency Hospital located nearby.

Every week, more workers are added to the construction of the new building. No time is wasted. As soon as a section of the heating system is laid and a few rooms are reclaimed from the frost, specialists arrive to carry out interior finishing work. Last week, 148 people were working at the site.

The facility is fully financed from the republican and regional budgets, as well as from loan funds provided by the Development Bank. The customer is the Capital Construction Department of the Regional Executive Committee, the general contractor is the State Enterprise "Vitebsk Construction Management," and the general designer is the Unitary Enterprise "Vitebskzhilproekt."

Correspondents of "VV" visited the construction site of the new infectious diseases hospital building on one of the frosty January days. Foreman Oleg Shcherbakov of SMP-169 led us through the facility where specialists from this organization were working. It is still hard to believe that the building will soon turn into a true palace of health, but the work is indeed proceeding non-stop: while the team of bricklayers was working on the last, technical floor of the building under construction, finishers were already working below – tiling the walls and laying floor screeds.

The infectious diseases hospital is not the only socially significant healthcare facility that will receive attention in the near future. As reported by the main department for healthcare of the regional executive committee, the construction of the operating and resuscitation unit of the regional clinical hospital is also ongoing, with active work in progress. Among important social facilities is the polyclinic in microdistrict No. 4 of the Aeroport residential area in Polotsk. Its construction is provided for by the Comprehensive Measures for Regional Development until 2025. The work on improving healthcare facilities in rural areas, centralizing emergency medical care, and equipping medical institutions also continues. For 2024, the region plans to install expensive equipment, which will also bring high-level medical care closer: this includes 4 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines and 4 computed tomography (CT) scanners, 8 X-ray machines, 2 angiographs, which will allow for faster and higher quality care for patients with cerebrovascular disorders and acute coronary syndrome, endoscopic equipment, and mammography units for the medical examination of the female population.

All this is being done to ensure that inter-district centers and regional institutions provide medical care at an even higher quality level.

"Vitebskiye Vesti", Photo by Dmitry OSIPOV