Governor Joseph C. Cua has set as his administration’s next priority the establishment of a heart station at the Eastern Bicol Medical Center, following last week’s inauguration of the hospital’s hemodialysis unit.
In his remarks during the blessing and inauguration of the facility for patients with kidney failure, the chief executive said the proposed heart station will offer diagnostic services such as 2D-Echo and stress test, among others.
This will come after the expected inauguration of the CT-Scan facility of the provincial hospital some three months from now or by May 2023, he disclosed, with construction work still on-going and the machine set to arrive this March.
The 10-seater dialysis unit at the back of the EBMC is the second government-operated facility in the island after the Juan M. Alberto Memorial District Hospital in San Andres.
It is also the first government-run dialysis unit in the capital town of Virac, which would provide an alternative to those in private hospitals, he said.
Pointing out that heart and kidney diseases are two of the major health problems in Catanduanes, Cua noted that many have succumbed to renal failure due to their difficulty of coping with the huge cost of going to dialysis centers in the mainland, with their scheduled treatments cancelled by inclement weather.
“One of the long-term goals of my administration is to make available basic health procedures to the people,” the governor stressed.
He bared that his proposal for the dialysis unit was delayed by his suspension and the pandemic, with the equipment arriving in 2021 before the Department of Health issued the license to operate last January 2023.
“Mas dakula na ang tabang na maitatao kaini sa mga pasyente,” Cua emphasized, saying that patients based in Virac and other towns need not go to San Andres to avail of the government service.
If the allocation for dialysis treatments under PhilHealth is consumed, the patients can charge the remaining cost to the Malasakit Center or the Medical Assistance to Indigents Program (MAIP), he added.
He thanked the Sangguniang Panlalawigan led by Vice Gov. Peter Cua, the Local Finance Committee and the EBMC rank-and-file for their valuable support.
The governor also expressed his appreciation to Dr. Lilibeth Ibarientos of the Las Pinas General Hospital for accepting the provincial government’s offer to be the nephrologist at the EBMC Hemodialysis Unit.
For his part, Vice Gov. Cua expressed pride in the accomplishment of the partnership between the executive and the legislative, which he said has given preferential attention to health programs and put a premium on needed care.
He assured the SP’s support for the modernization of facilities and upgrading of human resources to make the hospital professionally competitive.
On the other hand, PBM Roberto Dean Vergara, who represented Committee on Health chair PBM Santos Zafe, described the new facility as a legacy of the Cua leadership and asked the staff to take care of the expensive machines for the benefit of the people.
Speaking on behalf of the absent guest DOH Regional Director Ernie Vera, DOH Provincial Officer Dr. Robert John Aquino recalled that six years ago, he had a patient diagnosed with end-stage renal disease from a remote barangay who had to cope with the cost and difficulty of undergoing dialysis at the Bicol Regional Teaching and Training Hospital three times a week at huge cost to the family.
He said that the patient died after just two weeks, which makes those who will use the EBMC dialysis facility very fortunate.
The same sentiment was aired by Dr. Ibarientos, who remarked that she knows the hardships of families who want to extend the lives of their kin through dialysis.
“It’s a challenge for EBMC to give best quality service as mandated by DOH,” said the LPGH nephrologist who will visit Virac once a month but will be consulted by the staff 24/7 as the need arises.
EBMC chief Dr. Vietrez Abella, who disclosed that she is counting her days towards retirement, lauded the sisterhood between the provincial hospital and LPGH that led to the month-long training of the staff headed by Dr. Marjorie Lamban.
She paid tribute to Gov. Cua, who she said has never faltered in his support for EBMC, and the DOH Center for Health Development 5 for the grant of the 10 dialysis machines and peripherals.
Dr. Abella said this year, DOH has allocated P8 million for the establishment