Health Minister Venko Filipce on Saturday announced that three wards of the specialized hospital for prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of chronic and respiratory disorders in Otesevo will be reconstructed.

It is a hospital, he said, that is one of a kind in the country due to the characteristics of the region that have proven very beneficial for patients with chronic respiratory diseases and allergies.

“After four decades, this institution got the financial support to undergo renovation. Reconstruction works will start soon,” Filipce said while visiting the hospital, which is marking its 40th anniversary.

Annually, nearly 1,000 patients go for rehabilitation at the hospital with 1,300 patients receiving outpatient treatment and some 100 receiving treatment at the daily hospital.

“The three wards, due to be renovated, have the capacity for 72 hospital beds, and there are units for internal medicine and physical therapy,” said the Health Ministry.

Located on the western coast of Lake Prespa, the doctors at the hospital treat patients with chronic bronchitis, pulmonary emphysema, bronchial asthma, fibrosis, including patients after lung surgery.