LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The Benguet General Hospital (BeGH) continues to get donations of units of sophisticated medical equipment from kind-hearted individuals.
Benguet Caretaker Congressman and Anti-Crime and Terrorism through Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS) Party-list Rep. Eric Yap formally turned over to the BeGH administration a state-of-the-art high flow oxygen machine, one of the urgent needs of the hospital to cater to the needs of the increasing number of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients who need to have their normal oxygen flow brought back.
The lawmaker turned over the high flow oxygen machine in simple ceremonies to avoid the gathering of people as part of the measures to contain the spread of the deadly virus, especially that a good number of health workers from the different departments of the hospital recently contracted the virus.
Last year, Congressman Yap also donated the hospital’s first high flow oxygen machine that was initially used to aid severe COVID patients confined in the said hospital to stabilize the oxygen supply inside their bodies.
Aside from sourcing additional units of medical equipment to help provide the urgent needs of the hospital to cater to the increasing requirements of patients, Congressman Yap also wants the hospital be renationalized so that it will be under the direct supervision and management of the health department and free the provincial government from its annual appropriations for the operation of the hospital but instead use the fund for other priority development projects of the province.
According to him, the Senate counterpart bill of the BeGH renationalization is awaiting the action of the Senate Majority Floor Leader to be calendared for approval after several readings before it can be signed by the President into law.
He assured he will continue to seek funds for the provision of sophisticated medical equipment from concerned government agencies and even the private sector and his personal resources to ensure that the BeGH will be appropriately equipped to cater to complicated health concerns and contribute to decongesting the health care system in the metro Baguio area.
At present, the secondary hospital BeGH is being operated and managed by the provincial government with the municipal government providing the annual funding for its operations.
Concerned stakeholders expressed their all-out support to the initiative of Congressman Yap to work for the renationalization of the hospital to ease the burden of the provincial government in having to sustain the annual funding requirements of the province’s premier health facility.
By HENT
Photo by Armando M. Bolislis
