SANTO DOMINGO.- President Luis Abinader, along with the Minister of Public Works and Communications, MOPC, Deligne Ascención, inaugurated this Saturday, the Comprehensive Care Center for Disability (CAID) of Santo Domingo East.
Prior to the ribbon-cutting ceremony that officially opened the center to serve the needs of children with special needs in that area, President Luis Abinader highlighted the importance of opening this center for families with people who have some type of disability
"A great project that I know many families in Santo Domingo East are waiting for, although we had difficulties finishing it. Projects like these, which are very positive initiatives, don't matter if they come from past governments, in this case, from the former first lady, Mrs. Candy de Medina. We continue them, as we have done in other cases, and not only are we continuing them, but we are also expanding them so that they can reach a larger population.".
"Infrastructure like this can help so many families who need it," the president said.
The president took the opportunity to announce the creation of new regional units that will support these Disability Care Centers.
"For several years now we have been meeting to see how we can extend the CAID service and we identified several government properties that could be adapted for this work, and have been adapted for this work, so I can announce here that in the first quarter of next year we will open some new units that we have called Territorial Therapeutic Intervention Units (UITT), which are smaller than this one, which are quite important, but which will have enough to attend and if necessary refer some more serious cases to the locality of Santo Domingo East or West or Santiago or San Juan," said President Abinader.
He assured that these new units will be at the service of those most in need throughout the national territory.
“And I can announce that these territorial therapeutic intervention units, which will also serve many children with special needs, will be opened in the Luperón neighborhood, in Sabana Perdida, in Greater Santo Domingo, and in Baní in the Peravia province. At the same time, we have three more that will open in the second half of next year: in Las Matas de Farfán in San Juan, in the Monseñor Nouel province, and in Higüey in the East. These last three are already in the bidding process, but they are existing facilities that will be modified for the specific conditions of the territorial therapeutic intervention units. This doesn't mean we will limit ourselves to these; we are also looking for other facilities and, in some cases, building from scratch,” the president stated.
For his part, Minister Deligne Ascención stated that the completion of this Comprehensive Care Center for Disability (CAID) has been one of President Luis Abinader's greatest concerns, but above all, that of First Lady Raquel Arbaje de Abinader and his own wife, Lucía Vásquez, who have always been monitoring the progress of the construction process at each stage.
He stated that the buildings inaugurated today have been designed considering technical specifications and the necessary equipment in all their spaces for the installation and operation of the CAID, which will provide services to citizens residing in Santo Domingo Este, who until now have lacked free access coverage to provide high-quality comprehensive care to the children of this populous community.
“Due to legal complexities and weak planning in the drafting of contracts inherited from the previous administration, with the change of government we found ourselves in a situation where contractors were financially exhausted and had difficulty incorporating items into the contracts that had not originally been included in the budgets, but which were essential in some cases, to complete adequate, well-equipped facilities with all the necessary amenities for their proper use and operation,” the minister stated.
The official stated that after multiple efforts by the technicians, contractors, and the authorities involved, "today we can take this step forward with the inauguration of the Center, with the satisfaction of seeing a project completed that transforms the lives of hundreds of families throughout the eastern area of Santo Domingo.".
“The project involves the construction of a complex of buildings, built with an investment of 631 million pesos. The work has consisted of the construction of the main module and Building A, with an area of 5,813 square meters and 1,079 square meters, respectively, plus approximately 4,300 meters of access roads and parking areas,” explained Deligne Ascención.
He stated that one of the most important collateral aspects in the construction of the CAID has been the solution to a serious drainage problem that caused the formation of a lagoon in front of the Megacenter and the enabling of a technical solution related to the drilling that had to be done without affecting line 2 of the Santo Domingo Metro that runs right underneath.
“Just like in all the regional headquarters currently operating in different CAIDs, these new facilities will offer services in a variety of activities, with a highly trained staff, made up of doctors, therapists, psychologists and disability specialists, and offer a comprehensive quality service in the evaluation, diagnosis and therapeutic process of children from 0-12 years old with autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome and cerebral palsy,” he stated.
He assured that these facilities solve a vital family problem for residents in this eastern area of Greater Santo Domingo.
“Until the completion of this CAID, only one similar facility was operating on Luperón Avenue, where children had to be transferred from the other side of the city. As a result of the delay in completing this project, that CAID was overwhelmed, with a waiting list of more than 800 children, and in many cases, families waited up to three years to receive the necessary services, such as speech therapy, occupational therapy, social skills, and music,” the official said.
Deligne thanked the contractors Yunes and Milomar for their contribution, along with their technical teams, and the supervising engineers and specialized personnel from the Ministry of Public Works, who have had the will and made the effort to overcome the construction, legal, and financial obstacles necessary to complete this magnificent project.
“Today we can affirm that the parents of hundreds of children in this vast region are already attending the CAID, where they will be able to acquire the necessary skills for their full integration into social life,” Ascención concluded.
The event, led by President Abinader, was attended by Henry Rosado Polanco, National Director of CAID; Antonio Taveras Guzmán, Senator of the province; Altagracia Julia Drullart, Governor; the Mayor of the municipality of SDE, Manuel Jiménez; the Superintendent of Insurance, Josefa Castillo; the Vice Ministers Mélito Santana, Roberto Herrera, Ángel Tejeda, Mrs. Lucía Vázquez de Ascención; Pastor Dío Astacio, President of the Presidential Management Council and the Contractors Henry Rodríguez and Marcello Martínez.
