By JOENALD MEDINA RAYOS
TO complement the depleting health facilities of both public and private hospitals in Batangas and nearby provinces, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Department of Health (DOH) constructed a 31-room facility at the Batangas Medical Center (BatMC) compound in Batangas City that was inaugurated Friday morning.
DPWH Secretary Mark Villar was represented by Batangas Second Engineering District chief, Engr. Sonia Paglicauan while the DOH and the IATF was represented by treatment czar Usec Leopoldo Vega and Asst. Secretary Maria Francia Laxamana in the formal inauguration of the facility.
The temporary treatment facility stands in a 3,678 square meter rotonda lot fronting BatMC and is very accessible to incoming patients from other minor health facilities in the region.
Paglicauan said the Batangas off-site hospital building-facilities are divided into three (3) clusters – first, the 10-room Intensive Care Unit (ICU) with closed circuit television (CCTV) monitoring for moderate to severe patient; second, the 21 rooms facility for isolation of patients with mild symptoms but needs hospital care.
Other than the treatment facilities for patients, the third cluster is a makeshift dormitory with 22 rooms dedicated to accommodate 44 healthcare professionals who will attend to Covid-related patients was also completed.
“Ito yunmg parang response natin, lalong lalao nas a pandemic, Alam naman natin na talagang kinuykulang tayo sa pasilidad lalong lalo na sa ICU ng mga pasyenteng nangangailangan ng severe to critical management,” DOH Usec Vega said.
With completed civil works and medical equipments, the facility is readied to accommodate the surge in cases in Batangas including spillover patients from Metro Manila and nearby provinces in the Southern Tagalog Region.| – BNN
