The Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital, mainly known as Valdecilla is a general hospital located in the city of Santander

Santander, Cantabria

The port city of Santander is the capital of the autonomous community and historical region of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain. Located east of Gijón and west of Bilbao, the city has a population of 183,446 .-History:...

, Cantabria

Cantabria

Cantabria is a Spanish historical region and autonomous community with Santander as its capital city. It is bordered on the east by the Basque Autonomous Community , on the south by Castile and León , on the west by the Principality of Asturias, and on the north by the Cantabrian Sea.Cantabria...

, in Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

.

History

The Valdecilla Health House was founded by the end of the first third of the 20th century. Three different stages can be set to understand the history of the hospital: the first one, from its foundation in 1929 to 1969; the second one, until 1982; the third one, until year 2000; and from that year to the current time.

Important dates

• Foundation of the Valdecilla Health House, around 1910.
• Foundation of the hospital, with the important contribution of the Marquess of Valdecilla (1929). It included a nursing school
  Nursing school
  A nursing school is a type of educational institution, or part thereof, providing education and training to become a fully qualified nurse. The nature of nursing education and nursing qualifications varies considerably across the world.-United Kingdom:...
  
  , one of the first ones in Spain.
• Military hospital
  Military hospital
  Military hospital is a hospital, which is generally located on a military base and is reserved for the use of military personnel, their dependents or other authorized users....
  
  , since the Spanish Civil War
  Spanish Civil War
  The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
  
   to the 1950s. It involved a decline in the hospital.
• Inclusion in the National Health System (1969). By the same time, the Maternity Hospital, the children's hospital
  Children's hospital
  A children's hospital is a hospital which offers its services exclusively to children . The number of children's hospitals proliferated in the 20th century, as pediatric medical and surgical specialties separated from internal medicine and adult surgical specialties...
  
  , the recently built Parayas psychiatric hospital
  Psychiatric hospital
  Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
  
   and a geriatric hospital were added. New blocks were built in the General Hospital.
• Creation of the Santander medical school
  Medical school
  A medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine. Degree programs offered at medical schools often include Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Bachelor/Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, master's degree, or other post-secondary...
  
   (University of Cantabria
  University of Cantabria
  University of Cantabria , in Spanish Universidad de Cantabria, is a public university located in Santander and Torrelavega in Cantabria, Spain. It was founded in 1972 and is organized in 12 schools and colleges....
  
  ), associated to the Hospital.
• Second important expansion, by 1982. It followed by a new decline period.
• In 1999, November 2, the older structures were so damaged that the north-eastern wall of the Trauma building collapsed. Four workers died, and many were injured. This accident resulted in the third important renovation, which is expected to conclude by 2012. By the time, Valdecilla is supposed to become a Hospital City, one of the biggest and best equipped in Spain.