From emergency to decentralization: Valle del Cauca plan protects medical training after earthquake

More than 2,000 medical students and residents in Valle del Cauca are set to continue their professional training through alternative hospitals after earthquake damage affected the main campus of the University Hospital of Valle.

The regional government, the hospital and the University of Valle established a coordination group to organize the continuation of clinical practices. The arrangement responds to structural damage caused by the earthquake on Aug. 10.

The central proposal involves opening or strengthening practice sites outside the hospital’s main facility. Locations under consideration include hospitals in the municipalities of Cartago and Tuluá, as well as the Isaías Duarte Cancino and Mario Correa Rengifo hospitals in Santiago de Cali.

Regional authorities said the redistribution would cover academic training for undergraduate students and residents while also strengthening medical response and care for patients in municipalities across the department.

Governor Dilian Francisca Toro stressed the need to preserve training while adapting it to the public health network’s current operating capacity. HUV director Irne Torres Castro said hospital and academic officials would coordinate the operational details in the coming days, benefiting students from the University of Valle and other affiliated institutions.

University rector Guillermo Murillo Vargas said the university would provide logistical assistance to students who need to travel to Cartago or other sites. The regional government also reported progress toward restoring academic activities at about 300 educational campuses in non-certified municipalities after completing a safety census and technical assessment of school infrastructure.