A maternity ward needs specialized personnel such as an obstetrician-gynecologist, anesthesiologist (twenty-four hours), pediatrician-neonatologist, nurse anesthetist, and indispensable equipment like an incubator, respirator, blood bank and others...It is quite true that these services used to be offered in Vieques.

Viequense ob-gyn José Luis Cintrón in the late 1990s on the challenges of maintaining a maternity ward on the island.

[2] The José Benítez Guzmán Municipal Hospital was established in 1913 and included doctors, nurses, and other personnel, sleeping quarters, pharmacy, mortuary, operating room, maternity ward, and other services.

Young reported that it was in "pitiful shape...They didn't even have a typewriter that worked, and the patients waited, sometimes hours, on hard wooden benches."

Commodore Diego E. Hernández, chief of staff for the Naval Air Force Atlantic Fleet and the senior ranking Hispanic-American in the Navy, was present at the dedication ceremonies.

[10] In 1983, the retirement of Gloria Leguillou, a registered nurse specialized in obstetrics, resulted in a temporary closure of the maternity ward.

[12] In 1985, Puerto Rican pharmaceutical firms donated approximately $40,000 worth of medicine to the Vieques municipal hospital.

[20][21] The VWA successfully lobbied the administration of governor Sila María Calderón to support the funding of a maternity ward at the Vieques CDT.

[23] Due to broken air conditioning systems, the CDT's X-ray machine and maternity wards have closed periodically for years.

[26][24] Registered nurse Zaida Torres Rodriguez worked at the Vieques health center for eighteen years.

[26] In May 2019, members of the U.S. Congress wrote a letter to the acting Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administrator Pete Gaynor to request an explanation as to why the hospital was still closed almost two years after the hurricane.

[28] FEMA approved the funding after the Office of Management and Budget agreed to provide money to rebuild the Susan Centeno community health center based on its "replacement value.

"[28] The family of Jaideliz Moreno Ventura, 13, whose 2020 death was blamed on the lack of a functioning hospital and lifesaving medical equipment in Vieques, is suing the government for violation of human and civil rights.

[30] The second phase set to end in 2023 includes the main building, a helicopter pad, emergency room, x-ray center, pharmacy, and laboratory.