February 15th, 2022 - With several new developments under construction, the Rovinj hospital has an unprecedented opportunity to position itself as a market leader in thalassotherapy

Rovinj, the champion of tourism in Istria, is about to get a new public swimming pool complex. As reported by Jutarnjil list, it’s Rovinj’s biggest investment in 2022, worth 60 million kuna and currently under construction on the premises of the Special Hospital for Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation ‘Martin Horvat’. The building will be entirely made of stainless steel, the only one of its kind in Croatia, according to Branko Rajko, the director of the public company Valbruna Sport from Rovinj.

The pool complex is being built on the foundations of an older one which was demolished. The new facility will have two pools, one for athletes and recreationists, and a smaller one intended for patients of the Rovinj hospital.

The large investment is financed by Valbruna Sport, a company that’s 100% owned by the City of Rovinj, with a loan guaranteed by the City.

‘The main works on the pool will be finished by June. Fixtures are being installed at the moment, and some thirty employees are on the construction site every day. The opening is planned for September. This is our biggest investment in sports infrastructure, and together with the municipal port and the drainage system, it’s the largest infrastructure project in Rovinj in terms of funding’, says Rajko, who is looking forward to the opening of the new public swimming pool, as are his fellow citizens.

Measuring 25 by 33 metres, the larger pool will be filled with fresh water and will have a movable bottom in the width of 7.5 x 25 metres, i.e. three swimming lanes with the possibility of regulating the depth from 0 to -2 meters. It will be open to the public as well.

‘About 300 athletes will train at the new pool, and I believe a lot of citizens will come too in their free time, and not only those from Rovinj. The price of entry will be 30 kuna, and there will be affordable monthly tickets. I believe that the people of Poreč, Pazin and the wider area will visit the pool’, said Rajko.

Except for offering perfect conditions for training and recreation, the pool will surely be enjoyed for its spectacular view of the sea. According to Rajko, that was also a feature of the previous pool that existed in the same location, but the glass walls of the new one will provide a better view of the sea and the beach below the hospital.

‘The pool will host competitions at the local and regional levels. Not the higher levels, unfortunately, as we don't have big enough stands. The pool can only accommodate up to 300 spectators. We had to accommodate certain conditions of conservation because this hospital complex is under conservation protection, so we could not expand further’, explained Rajko. He said construction was challenging; as the pool is located on the shore, the sea flooded the underground rooms while foundations were being dug. It was a pool within a pool, he said with a laugh.

A smaller rehabilitation pool measuring 12.60 by 6 metres will be reserved for hospital patients and will have a separate entrance. The rehabilitation pool will be filled with sea water; halls are being built for physical therapy, hydrotherapy and electrotherapy. Exercise will be taking place outdoors as well, in the Mediterranean garden on the premises between the pool and the hospital.

Developers are also building a new department of physical therapy and hydrotherapy, which will provide a wide range of therapies covered by the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO). Overall, the Rovinj hospital is getting an unprecedented opportunity to position itself as a market leader in thalassotherapy, which employs the beneficial effects of the sea in medical treatment and rehabilitation.

A historical promenade is also being restored, one that starts in the park of the Rovinj hospital and winds around the picturesque Muccia peninsula. The promenade has seen better days, but is still attractive nonetheless. It spans along the coastline and offers wonderful views of Rovinj on the other side of the bay. Only a third of the trail will be restored in the first phase, with the renovation works valued at 1.1 million kuna.

‘The trail will be widened and paved, and we’ll have trash cans, benches and information panels installed. When new tenders are announced, we’ll apply immediately because our goal is to renovate the entire promenade. It’s especially important to us to ensure that hospital patients with reduced mobility, as well as wheelchair users, can take strolls on the promenade. At the moment, the bumpy trail makes it quite difficult for them’, said hospital director Silvia Buttignoni. The promenade will be completed in five months.

The entire compound of the Special Hospital ‘Martin Horvat’ is protected by the Ministry of Culture as immovable cultural property, and the Muccia peninsula is part of a significant landscape that includes all inhabited and uninhabited islands around Rovinj.

The latest investments will further improve the quality of service in the hospital, which also provides medical tourism services.

As Novac/Barbara Ban writes on the 26th of February, 2019, ''Dr. Martin Horvat'' Rovinj Hospital has proudly stated the fact that in 2019, it plans to invest heavily in the amount of 12 million kuna, and it ended 2018 in a surplus in regard to finance and the number of patients. They claimed that they had 500 patients more than one year earlier, that they provided 16,440 more medical services than they did last year, marking an increase of 26.5 percent.

Rovinj Hospital finished of the business year of 2018 with a financial gain of 623,000 kuna. This is the fifth year in a row that Rovinj Hospital has managed to conclude with some excellent financial results, with all of our employees being paid all of their salaries within the deadline, as well as regressions, Christmas bonuses, vouchers, jubilee awards, money for children for St. Nicholas, retirement benefits, sickness benefits, and assistance in accordance with our underlying collective agreement. I'm proud to show this positive change and an increase in the number of visits to our institution from year to year because better implementation means better addressing the needs of our citizens,'' says dr. sc. Marinko Rade, who was recently elected to the Working Group of the Ministry of Health for the drafting of the Ordinance on Health Tourism.

Investments of 12 million kuna are planned to be carried out over the next fifteen months, and alterations have already begun in the department where the patients from the AUVA insurance company stay during their time at Rovinj Hospital. The hospital's entire roof will be changed, the façade will be renewed, and works on the hospital's energy sources will be carried out, a new elevator will also be installed. The total value of these investments currently stands at five million kuna, with renovation of the main building also planned.

''Investments for a further seven million kuna will be issued shortly, including the renovation of the façade, the replacement of the entire roof, and works regarding the change of the energy [system] of the main building of the hospital, where there are clinics and departments in which our local patients are treated. We're investing the most in these departments. Reconstruction should start at the end of 2019,'' added Rade.

He added that so far, everything they invested has been covered by money from the hospital's significant profits, and now they are financially secure enough to safely borrow. In addition to all of the works Rovinj Hospital is set to undergo, a library will be opened soon in the department, and a new therapeutic park will be set up.

''So far, we've collected 6,000 books donated by citizens, which is a truly impressive and record-breaking number for a public action. At this time, we're separate the books by their categories and languages, and we're renewing the space where the library will be located at the department. Additionally, the placement of a therapeutic park is ongoing, which is being carried out within the Design/Build project in collaboration with the George Washington University from the USA. The project will be completed by April this year,'' noted Rade.

Rovinj Hospital isn't ''only'' planning to invest in buildings, but also in their much appreciated employees, in terms of their continued and additional education. This will amount to up to 250,000 kuna.

''This is the money that this institution allocates from its income, ie, from the income generated from the private market,'' Rade added that owing to several factors, Rovinj Hospital can't raise anyone's salary regardless of their position, and that's why the hospital's administration has been looking for more innovative ways to properly reward and thus hopefully retain such valued employees, and one way is to pay them in continued, additional education.

''Of course, doctors and healthcare staff are paid for their training and for congresses in order to become superior in their specialties, which means more access to patients. But we're also investing in the non-medical staff who work in our hospital, which I consider to be equally important links in the chain. This means that, let's say, chefs and cooks can receive paid education which then allows them to progress and provides them with technical education and training that can help them out more in their day-to-day work. That's why we've reserved a lot of money,'' concluded the director of Rovinj Hospital.

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Click here for the original article by Barbara Ban for Novac/Jutarnji

Hospital patients and citizens of Rovinj might soon get a new therapy park, designed to benefit people's health and well-being.