Fundacion Cardiovascular (FCV) was established in 1986 in Bucaramanga (Colombia) as a non-for profit health services provider with emphasis on cardiovascular care. It was the first hospital in Colombia to receive JCI accreditation in November 2009. During 2010, they performed close to 13,000 surgeries and 76,000 outpatient visits in the network, making them one of the largest hospitals in Colombia (considering both public and private sector ones). Its main focus is cardiovascular and neurosurgery, being strong in transplants and high risk obstetrics as well. FCV also has a hospital products division, for supplies to other Colombian hospitals (telemedicine equipment, gowns, and sutures among others). It also operates a telemedicine division, by which FCV doctors remotely track and follow patients in low income frontier regions, as a social responsibility by FCV.

Additional to its JCI accreditation, FCV was the first Latin-American hospital certified by NTC ISO 9001:2000 and is also a “Green Hospital”.

Total project cost is estimated at $100 million for the construction of Hospital Internacional de Colombia. The proposed funding consists of $30 million.

30.0 million (USD)

Product Line	IFC Investment (million USD)
Risk Management
Guarantee
Loan	30.0
Equity

* These investment figures are indicative

The project is located within a green area protected by natural barriers that ensure the environmental quality of the project. Thanks to its privileged location, the project will provide excellent conditions for the patients, as well as an optimal working environment for the medical group and its partners. The Hospital will be built in the municipality of Piedecuesta, located 9 miles from the center of the city of Bucaramanga. Its neighbors are Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana and private residential condominiums.

Key environmental factors in the project will be the conservation and improvement of the current network of river water sources, respecting and applying local and international legislation. The low population density of the area helps to maintain natural green areas, as well as those areas to be created by the project. Impact on existing ecosystems will be minimal, through the implementation of a regulator plan during construction.

(i) High quality health coverage in an underdeveloped region: Colombia overall has 10 beds per 10,000 inhabitants, low as compared to Argentina and Brasil. This low coverage is even less in remote regions, such as the ones FCV is targeting; Santander, coffee region and the Atlantic coast.
(ii) Availability of hospital infrastructure for population for some frontier regions of Colombia (Norte Santander, Guajira, Magdalena, Cordoba, Choco),
(iii) Best practices redeployment in a network of smaller hospitals: FCV has JCI accreditation for its main hospital in Bucaramanga and plans to expand this standard to the new project as well to the hospitals under management.
(iv) Improving coverage: FCV has a track record of operating 4 hospitals in different cities of Colombia and plans to continue expanding its network.

(i) Long term financing is not readily available for health institutions from local commercial banks.
(ii) Long term partnership: IFC will provide the Company with access to IFC''s network of health clients (e.g. contacts through the health conferences and other IFC LAC clients).
(iii) Demonstration effect: By investing in a sector with limited access to long term finance, IFC will signal to capital markets and institutional investors that providing quality health care to both lower and higher income segments is profitable, through the mechanisms of payment established by the nationally mandated plan.
(iv) Environmental and social best practice: As FCV is a green hospital, IFC will improve its action plan in a sector that has not had access to international performance standards in social safety prevention.

This is a category B project according to IFC’s Procedure for Environmental and Social Review of Projects because a limited number of specific environmental and social impacts may result that can be avoided or mitigated by adhering to generally recognized performance standards, guidelines or design criteria.

Specific key environment, social, health and safety issues reviewed include:
- Corporate environmental and social management capacity to undertake the project and operations in a manner consistent with IFC Performance Standards;
- Land acquisition process, site location, planning, and permitting;
- Working conditions for employees and contract workers during both construction and operation of the hospital;
- Occupational health and safety (OHS);
- Management and control of nosocomial and blood-borne infections;
- Life and fire safety;
- Efficient use of energy, water and resources;
- Wastewater reduction, treatment and disposal, in particular discharge of treated effluents to surface water;
- Management of hazardous materials and hazardous health care wastes; and
- Management of impacts on nearby communities regarding safety and security risks during construction and operations.