Situated on 20 hectares (49 acres), El Borda is located on Calle Ramón Carrillo, Barracas, Buenos Aires, next to the Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatric Hospital Garcia Tobar.

The last name change occurred in 1967 to honor the psychiatrist Dr. Jose Tiburcio Borda who joined the UBA Medical School faculty in 1891 and began working at Hospicio de las Mercedes shortly thereafter, staying on until his retirement in 1930.

[1] In the mid-2000s, members of the Argentine rock band, Bersuit, wore pastel pajamas, like escapees from a lunatic asylum, as a tribute to El Borda.

[3] El Borda is built in the shape of the letter 'H', and has two wings on either sides of the main hospital, separated by garden areas.

[4] The hospital offers mental health services and a research centre linked to the University of Buenos Aires medical faculty.

Psychiatric facilities in other countries, such as Argentina, Chile, Germany, Spain, and Uruguay have subsequently developed similar programs.