At the beginning of the 20th century, the Military Medical Corps of Uruguay underwent a process of institutional reorganisation. By executive decree dated 7 July 1904, the position of Surgeon General of the Army, which had existed since 1881, was replaced by that of Chief of Military Medical Services, and the Army Stretcher-Bearer Company was formally established.[1] At that time, military officers received medical care in designated wards of the Hospital Maciel.[2]
THe hospital's main building, 1908
In 1905, one year after the end of the Revolution of 1904, construction began on a dedicated Military Hospital. The hospital was officially placed at the disposal of the Military Medical Corps for both active-duty and retired personnel upon the inauguration of its current building on 18 July 1908, a date of symbolic significance marking the 78th anniversary of the swearing-in of Uruguay’s first Constitution. The facility was inaugurated by President Claudio Williman, and its first director was the surgeon Ricardo Vecino.[3]
By 1918, the hospital’s infrastructure proved insufficient to meet growing demand, prompting the initiation of a series of structural expansions. In 1921, hospital care was extended to women and children of enlisted personnel, broadening the institution’s scope. The following year, 1922, a major expansion project was designed by architects and military officers Alfredo Baldomir and Alfredo Campos, aimed at increasing capacity and modernising the facilities.[4]
In 1929, the widow and daughters of former president Feliciano Viera sold a parcel of land fronting 8 de Octubre Avenue to the State. The site subsequently housed the Military Medical Nursing School, which operated there until 1934.[1] During World War II, the Military Hospital was one of the medical centres that provided treatment to wounded combatants from the Battle of the River Plate.[5]
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