Gorgas Hospital

Gorgas Hospital
Canal Zone postage stamp commemorating 75th Anniversary of Gorgas Hospital
Geography
Location	Ancón, Panama, Panama City, Panama, Panama
Services
Beds	143
History
Founded	1882 (France) 1904 (United States)
Closed	1997
Links
Lists	Hospitals in Panama

Gorgas Hospital was a U.S. Army hospital in Panama City, Panama, named for Army Surgeon General William C. Gorgas (1854–1920).

Built on the site of an earlier (1882) French hospital called L'Hospital Notre Dame de Canal, it was originally (1904) christened Ancon Hospital by the Americans. It was originally built of wood but was rebuilt in concrete in 1915 by Samuel Hitt. It was renamed Gorgas Hospital in 1928.

Gorgas Hospital is located on Ancon Hill. It was managed by the U.S. Army for most of the 20th century but is now, in accordance with the Torrijos-Carter Treaties (1977), in Panamanian hands. Since October 1999, it has been home to the Instituto Oncologico Nacional, Panama's Ministry of Health.

The French canal company built the first hospital, then regarded as the finest and most modern in the tropics, at Ancon Hill, as well as a smaller hospital at Colon and a convalescent sanitarium at Tabago. The location on the hill was chosen as the elevation maximized exposure to healthy breezes and maximized the distance from the sewage and slums of Panama City. The hospital was placed under control of Dr. Louis Companyo, the former head of sanitation at the Suez Canal. However, a lack of understanding of the role of mosquitoes in disease transmission resulted in massive outbreaks of malaria and yellow fever, which besieged the hospital where at times the death rate of patients was estimated at 75%.

When the American government bought the French canal company in 1904, the Ancon hospital was considered an important asset. Under Dr. William C. Gorgas, it was expanded and modernized, but retained the same basic structure as the French hospital. During this period (1913–18), William Haugaard was one of the architects involved in the redesign. Critical improvements involved door and window screens and sealed rooms to facilitate fumigation. The hospital played a major role in lowering death rates during the canal construction.