Hospital Víctor Larco Herrera

Hospital Víctor Larco Herrera, formally known as Víctor Larco Herrera National Hospital, is a psychiatric hospital in the Magdalena del Mar district of Lima, Peru. It is one of the country’s historically significant institutions for the care and treatment of people with mental illness. The hospital was established during a period when Lima’s existing facilities were being reorganized and expanded to respond to the needs of psychiatric care. The institution opened on January 1, 1918, as the Asilo Colonia de la Magdalena. Its creation replaced the older Hospital Civil de la Misericordia as a principal establishment for the care of mentally ill people in Lima. The first director was physician Hermilio Valdizán, a leading figure in the development of psychiatric medicine in Peru. The early institution was therefore associated both with the modernization of psychiatric services and with the emergence of specialized medical leadership in the country. On January 1, 1919, landowner and philanthropist Víctor Larco Herrera became an inspector of the asylum. He provided a donation of one million Peruvian soles for the expansion of the hospital. This contribution supported the growth of the institution and led to the adoption of Larco Herrera’s name. In 1921, the asylum was renamed in his honor, and in 1930 it formally became the Víctor Larco Herrera Hospital, the name it continues to use. The hospital’s identity is primarily institutional rather than commercial. Its role is to provide psychiatric and mental-health-related care within Peru’s public health system, while also representing an important part of the country’s medical and social history. Its principal service scope is psychiatric hospitalization and related mental-health care; the available reference material does not provide a complete current list of clinical departments, programs, capacity, or service volumes. The hospital operates in Peru, with its historic campus and headquarters in Lima’s Magdalena del Mar district. It maintains an official website under the larcoherrera.gob.pe domain. Detailed information about its current administrative structure, leadership, ownership classification, and present-day service portfolio is not established by the supplied reference material and should be verified against current official records.

Hospital Víctor Larco Herrera traces its origins to the Asilo Colonia de la Magdalena, which was inaugurated in Lima on January 1, 1918. The institution was created to provide care for people with mental illness and replaced the older Hospital Civil de la Misericordia as a principal facility serving Lima’s psychiatric-care needs. Its establishment reflected the development of a more specialized institutional framework for mental-health treatment in Peru. The first director was physician Hermilio Valdizán. His appointment connected the new asylum with the professionalization of psychiatric medicine in Peru and with efforts to develop dedicated care for people with mental illnesses. The available historical account identifies Valdizán as the institution’s first director, but does not describe the full sequence of later directors or provide a complete administrative history. On January 1, 1919, Víctor Larco Herrera, a landowner and philanthropist, was appointed inspector of the asylum. He donated one million Peruvian soles for the expansion of the facility. This philanthropic intervention was a major turning point in the institution’s early development, enabling the asylum to grow beyond its initial configuration and establishing Larco Herrera as its principal benefactor. The institution adopted his name in 1921, when the asylum became known as the Víctor Larco Herrera establishment. In 1930, it was renamed the Víctor Larco Herrera Hospital. The name has remained in use, and the institution is also referred to as Víctor Larco Herrera National Hospital. It is located in Magdalena del Mar, Lima, and continues to be identified as a psychiatric hospital in Peru. The hospital’s historical significance lies in the intersection of public psychiatric care, medical modernization, and philanthropy. It replaced an older general charitable facility in the city’s mental-health infrastructure, gained specialized medical direction under Hermilio Valdizán, and expanded through the financial support of Víctor Larco Herrera. Current details about clinical programs, facilities, governance, staffing, and patient services are not supplied in the available reference material and require confirmation from official institutional sources.

• 1930

  Renamed Víctor Larco Herrera Hospital

  [1]Víctor Larco Herrera Hospitalen.wikipedia.org

  The institution was formally renamed Víctor Larco Herrera Hospital, the name it continues to use.

• 1921

  Institution named after its benefactor

  [1]Víctor Larco Herrera Hospitalen.wikipedia.org

  The asylum adopted the name Víctor Larco Herrera in recognition of its benefactor.

• 1919

  Víctor Larco Herrera appointed inspector

  [1]Víctor Larco Herrera Hospitalen.wikipedia.org

  On January 1, Víctor Larco Herrera became inspector of the asylum and provided substantial philanthropic funding for its expansion.

• 1918

  Opening of the Asilo Colonia de la Magdalena

  [1]Víctor Larco Herrera Hospitalen.wikipedia.org

  The Asilo Colonia de la Magdalena opened in Lima on January 1 as an institution for the care of people with mental illness, replacing the older Hospital Civil de la Misericordia.

• 1918

  Hermilio Valdizán becomes first director

  [1]Víctor Larco Herrera Hospitalen.wikipedia.org

  Physician Hermilio Valdizán was appointed the first director of the newly established asylum.

A historic Peruvian public psychiatric institution focused on mental-health care and associated with the development of modern psychiatric services in Lima.

• Mental-health service · 1918

  Psychiatric hospital care

  The hospital’s core institutional offering is specialized psychiatric care for people with mental-health conditions. The supplied sources establish its role as a psychiatric establishment but do not specify the current range of wards, treatment modalities, referral arrangements, or clinical outcomes.

• Hospital service · 1918

  Inpatient mental-health services

  As a dedicated psychiatric hospital, the institution provides hospital-based care associated with the treatment and supervision of people with mental illness. The available references do not provide current information on bed numbers, admission criteria, or the precise organization of inpatient services.

• 1930

  Formal renaming as Víctor Larco Herrera HospitalStrategy

  Background

  The institution had used the Víctor Larco Herrera name since 1921 and continued to develop as a dedicated psychiatric facility.

  Action taken

  The asylum was formally renamed Víctor Larco Herrera Hospital.

  Aftermath

  The hospital retained this name and is also known as Víctor Larco Herrera National Hospital.

  Source

• 1921

  Adoption of the Víctor Larco Herrera nameStrategy

  Background

  Following Víctor Larco Herrera’s appointment as inspector and his support for the institution’s expansion, the asylum adopted his name.

  Action taken

  The institution was renamed in honor of its principal benefactor.

  Aftermath

  The name established the hospital’s enduring institutional identity and preceded its formal designation as Víctor Larco Herrera Hospital in 1930.

  Source

1. 1Víctor Larco Herrera Hospitalen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Hospital Víctor Larco Herrera official websitelarcoherrera.gob.pe