1989: Cuba’s Secondary and Tertiary -levels Health Care Infrastructure

By this date, Cuba has 6.0 medical assistance beds per 1,000 inhabitants and 1.3 social assistance beds per 1,000 people. The island boasts a total of 263 hospitals, 420 polyclinics (see 1964 and after), 163 dental clinics, 229 dispensaries, 3 medicinal spas, 148 maternity homes, 23 blood banks, 11 medical research institutes, 153 homes for the elderly, and 23 homes for the physically and mentally impaired. These facilities are distributed relatively evenly across Cuba, though there is a slightly higher concentration of beds in those provinces that serve as regional health centers. The Havana province also has a larger number of beds per capita because it is a national referral center. [Feinsilver, 1993, pp. 58-59]