More than 60 patients receive care in tents after severe damage to the hospital in Penonomé, Panama

A healthcare worker evaluates and treats convalescent patients in tents set up outside the Aquilino Tejeira Hospital in Penonomé, following structural damage caused by the earthquake. Around 70 patients are receiving medical care in tents and modular structures in the city of Penonomé, after a magnitude 7.5 earthquake caused severe damage to the infrastructure of the Aquilino Tejeira Hospital. The seismic event, recorded at 12:56 p.m. yesterday, Friday, October 9, with its epicenter in the district of Tonosí, caused significant damage to homes, public buildings, and health facilities in several provinces of Panama. Faced with the deterioration of the hospital's main building, the Ministry of Health (Minsa) ordered the urgent transfer and installation of modular units from areas such as Panama East to reinforce the care response capacity in the province of Coclé. Health Minister Fernando Boyd Galindo traveled to the affected area to coordinate the logistics of supply distribution and supervise evacuation operations. During the inspection, the official explained that the temporary wards were housing convalescent patients while the outfitting of modular structures equipped with air conditioning systems was being completed. Despite the severe damage to the old building of the Aquilino Tejeira Hospital, authorities confirmed that the new hospital constructions did not suffer structural damage. The head of the Minsa specified that the new hospital building under construction on the outskirts of Penonomé showed no cracks or structural failures, so its construction is advancing toward the final phase. Likewise, technical inspections carried out at the site of the new Children's Hospital in the country's capital yielded favorable results, confirming that the building remains in optimal condition. Around 70 patients from the Aquilino Tejeira Hospital in Penonomé, province of Coclé, are being treated in tents and modular units due to serious damage to the structure of the medical center. Health authorities explain the contingency plan and the damage assessment. The impact of the earthquake also affected the primary care network in rural communities of the province. Health reports indicated damage to the health centers of El Valle de Antón and El Tambo, in the district of La Pintada. The work plan drawn up by the Health Ministry includes continuous supervisory tours by national officials to the towns of Chitré, Las Tablas, Soná, and Santiago. The central objective of these visits is to verify the operational status of the medical posts and accelerate the delivery of essential supplies. So far, relief agencies have not reported any fatalities directly associated with the earthquake. In parallel with the efforts deployed by Minsa authorities, the Social Security Fund (CSS) launched a verification protocol at its facilities in the public network. The institution's general director, Dino Mon, led a technical supervisory visit this Saturday to the Dr. Gustavo Nelson Collado Hospital in the city of Chitré. During the visit, the head of the entity thoroughly examined the sturdiness of the infrastructure in the emergency room, the surgical block, and the dialysis units in order to authorize the safe resumption of patient care. Dino Mon, director of the Social Security Fund, leads the supervisory rounds of patients after the earthquake (Courtesy: @CSSPanama). Regarding the continuity of renal replacement therapy treatments, the National Coordination of Renal Replacement Therapies formalized the resumption of operations in most of the country's units starting Saturday, October 10, 2026. The opening of each module required a prior certification of the building's conditions, as well as verification of the operation of the water treatment plants and osmosis machines, key elements that cannot be easily relocated. According to the official report, the Soná hemodialysis unit was the most affected by the earthquake and will require repair work during the Sunday shift before deciding on its eventual reopening. Health authorities will maintain constant monitoring of the hospital infrastructure in the event of possible seismic aftershocks.