TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new St. Camillus Hospital in Penghu on Thursday (July 6).

The old hospital served the Penghu area for 66 years, though safety concerns and a lack of space required new facilities to be constructed. The cost of the project was initially pegged at NT$550 million (US$17.6 million), though it has risen to NT$830 million due to high material costs as well as worker wages, per UDN.

Higher costs stalled the rebuilding, which began on Dec. 28, 2021. A new source of funding was located after public appeals and a construction contract was signed in March this year.

A number of dignitaries turned out for the groundbreaking event, including Penghu County Magistrate Chen Guang-fu (陳光復). He thanked hospital administrators for their dedication to providing medical care services to Penghu residents.

Roman Catholic clergy from the Camillian Order came to Taiwan after being expelled from China in 1951, due to the Chinese Civil War (1927-1949). They are credited with starting St. Mary’s Clinic in Yilan’s Luodong Township. A similar clinic sharing the same name was founded in Penghu’s Magong City in 1953.

Father Antonio Crotti raised funds to transform the small clinic into St. Camillus Hospital in 1957.

With the completion of the new building, St. Camillus Hospital will have two buildings of approximately five floors in height that can accommodate 160 people. Much of the care will cater to the elderly, such as long-term care services, outpatient clinics, dialysis, rehabilitation, and at-home health care services.