ABSTRACT
Abel Gilbert Pontón (AGP) Hospital was founded in 1973. Located in a low-income area of Guayaquil, the most populous city in Ecuador, it was the first public hospital in the city built by the Ministry of Health. AGP Hospital receives patients whose medical expenses are not covered by social security and who do not have the economic resources to pay for private medical care. Under the new regulation, all Ecuadorian hospital activities were classified under one of the following processes: governing processes, added value processes, support processes, and advisory processes. Prior to the application of the new regulatory framework, AGP Hospital was considered the most notorious hospital in the country because of the poor quality of patient care and widespread internal corruption. Strong evidence of AGP Hospital's improvement is supported by the hospital portfolio. In 2012, only 12 specialties were offered, whereas today 14 clinical specialties and 14 surgical specialties are offered.
