San José, Costa Rica, March, 2014.

The Clínica Bíblica Hospital was endorsed by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and by the Costa Rican Federation of Football as the official medical center for the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women´s World Cup Championship, which has been taking place in the country since March 15, due to finish on April 5.

Dr. Jorge Cortés, the Medical Director, indicated that they were chosen because “we are the only medical center that can rely on a heliport, on high technology equipment, and on a specialized medical staff 24/7 to meet the needs of this important event.” Moreover, it is the only medical center with worldwide standards of quality accredited by the Joint Commission International.

If one of the players is injured and requires hospital attention, she will be referred by the medical committee to the Emergency service of the hospital, where a doctor in charge will monitor each case, according to its priority. If an incident should occur at the site in Liberia, which is farther away, the athletes will be given medical attention at the hospital´s branch in Guanacaste and will be referred here at a later date for follow up treatment.

In any case that requires hospitalization, as with an underage player, there will be someone to accompany her, as each delegation has an assistant and an official translator of the FIFA to keep track of her progress. It is important to mention that each team has its own insurance policy.

Dr. Cortés indicated that so far they have attended 6 patients, of which 3 cases were sports traumas and other cases were respiratory tract infections and gastrointestinal problems. These cases are of local precedence and from countries, like China, Germany, Japan, and Korea..

More information:

• Laura Valverde, Porter Novelli, Tel. (506) 2205-4093
• Maria Vanessa Vega, Head of the Corporate Communications Department of Hospital Clínica Bíblica, Tel. (506) 2522-1420