Spain Advances Healthcare with Innovative Elderly Care Model in Aretxabaleta and New Primary Care Center in Murcia
Spain launches a pioneering elderly care model in Aretxabaleta and advances a new primary care center in Murcia, reflecting strong commitments to healthcare innovation and infrastructure improvement.
- • The POBA pilot project in Aretxabaleta integrates health and social services with nearly 5 million euros investment.
- • Focused on seniors over 70, POBA promotes prevention and personalized care through comprehensive assessments.
- • Murcia’s Nonduermas center will serve 13,400 residents with a 2.7 million euro budget as part of a regional Primary Care plan.
- • Murcia’s project faced flooding risk and budget cuts but aims to replace inadequate current facilities.
Key details
Spain is witnessing significant advances in healthcare infrastructure and service models with two key projects launched in Aretxabaleta and Murcia. These initiatives aim to enhance care quality for elderly populations and address urgent primary care infrastructure needs.
In Aretxabaleta, the Basque Government, alongside local councils, has inaugurated the POBA (Pertsonen Ongizatea Begirada Anitzetik Aretxabaleta) pilot project. This integrated socio-sanitary care model unites health, social, and community services under one roof, targeting residents aged 70 and above. The Osakidetza Health Center serving more than 7,000 locals has invested nearly five million euros to create this facility featuring three floors with 21 consultation rooms and an additional floor dedicated to municipal social services. So far, 1,272 seniors have been identified for comprehensive assessments covering health, cognitive, functional, emotional, and social factors to develop individualized care plans focused on prevention and early risk detection such as falls or cognitive decline. Health Minister Alberto Martínez underscored POBA as a groundbreaking approach centered on personalized, preventive care.
Meanwhile, Murcia is progressing on a new primary care center in Nonduermas aimed at serving approximately 13,400 residents across five districts including Era Alta and Rincón de Seca. The center will be built on 10,143 square meters of land recently transferred by local government and is part of a regional Primary Care improvement plan with a 78.5 million euro budget. The Nonduermas facility alone will receive an investment of 2.7 million euros. This project follows challenges such as site flooding risk delays and cuts that removed initially planned mental health and teaching units, reducing investment numbers. However, Murcia remains committed to modernizing healthcare infrastructure to replace outdated and inadequate facilities, such as the cramped consultation rooms currently in use.
Together, these developments highlight Spain’s commitment to improving healthcare delivery by integrating advanced socio-sanitary models and expanding access to modern primary care facilities, addressing both aging populations and community healthcare needs.
This article was translated and synthesized from Spanish sources, providing English-speaking readers with local perspectives.
