TABUK CITY, Kalinga – The provincial government, through the Provincial Health Office (PHO), has assessed five health centers within the province as Level I adolescent health-friendly facility (AHFF).
These health facilities assessed, verified and for recommendation as Level I AFFF are the Kalinga Provincial Hospital in Bulanao this city; Western Kalinga District Hospital in Poblacion, Balbalan; Kalinga District Hospital, Poblacion, Lubuagan; and Juan M. Duyan Memorial District Hospital, Babalag West, Rizal.
During the Provincial Health Board (PHB) meeting, Christel Joanna Callangan, the Provincial coordinator of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Program and Population Program Officer, stated that the PHO employed a facility observation checklist as a monitoring tool for this reason.
The following indicators will be checked off the checklist: welcoming signs, clinic hours, a list of services offered, actual health services rendered, clinical guidelines, a designated person with record-access authority, a specific room for patient-provider interactions, and a registration logbook.
Adolescents living in the facility’s catchment area should also be aware of the health services it offers, find it convenient to visit and receive services from it, and be assured of access to a range of products and services that are required to achieve the best possible standard of health, according to Callangan.
The facility must also be a warm and welcoming place that fosters a comfortable atmosphere for teenagers and guarantees privacy by treating customers with dignity and maintaining confidentiality, she further stated.
Additionally, facilities certified as level AHFF by virtue of Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) Resolution No. 2024-190 include Tabuk Health Center I, located in Dagupan Centro, Tabuk City; Tabuk Health Center III, located in Bulanao, Tabuk City; Tanudan Municipal Hospital, located in Banagao, Poblacion, Tanudan; and Kalinga Gabriela Mija Kim Medical Center, located in Agbannawag, Tabuk City.
The following goals will be pursued by the AHFF: mental health; healthy development; healthy nutrition; sexual and reproductive health; decreased substance use; decreased injuries and death, morbidity, and psychosocial effects of injuries; decreased all forms of violence and their associated death, morbidity, and psychosocial effects; and reduced use of drugs.
The AHFF addresses the issue of teenagers not accessing health care due to five main reasons: they are unaware of the services’ availability and how to get them; they face social and cultural barriers; they believe there is a loss of privacy or confidentiality; the services are hard to get; and employees are seemingly unaccomodating.
The PHB meeting is a quarterly meeting chaired by the governor composed of members from the SP, the city/municipal health officers and other medical organizations and professionals and health providers from all public hospitals and the rural health units of the province to present accomplishments and discuss health-related issues needing immediate attention. By Darwin S. Serion
