BAGUIO CITY – The administration of the State-run Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC) will put up two parking structures within its compound to help ease the daily monstrous traffic jams around the hospital and provide adequate parking areas for its patients and visitors.
Dr. Ricardo Ruñez, BGHMC medical center chief, said the short term plan of the hospital will be the construction of a 3-storey parking structure near the administration building that could accommodate more than 50 parking slots for its patients and visitors aside from relocating the hospital’s emergency room nearer to Kennon road so that patients being brought for emergency purposes could be given immediate medical attention.
On the other hand, he informed the members of the local legislative body during Monday’s regular session that the hospital’s medium term plan is for the construction of a 6-storey parking building near the Flavier building that could accommodate more than 100 slots for its patients and visitors to improve the parking conditions in the hospital compound and to help lessen the impact of the lack of parking spaces around the hospital compound.
“We continue to look for ways on how we can maximize the available spaces in our compound for those who have patients and our regular visitors transacting business with the different departments of the hospital. We want our patients and their family members to have a stress-free stay in our hospital,” Ruñez stressed.
The BGHMC head claimed the planned multi-level parking structures in the hospital compound is in preparation for the expected expansion of the hospital’s bed capacity to around 1,200 bed capacity with an expected influx of people and vehicles entering and going out of the hospital every hour of the day.
According to him, BGHMC management is still studying the possibility whether or not to offer the parking structures free to patients and visitors for the benefit of ensuring sufficient parking spaces for those who are in need of medical intervention from experts assigned in the hospital.
Ruñez explained management is trying to negotiate a loan with the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) to fund the construction of the two multi-level parking structures within the hospital compound and the loan will be repaid through the savings of the hospital or through the collection of reasonable parking fees from user of the facilities.
City Planning and Development Officer Evelyn G. Cayat underscored the city needs more multi-level parking projects like what BGHMC is planning to put up to provide adequate parking spaces for the rapidly increasing number of motorists plying the city’s streets, thus, the local government is supportive of the endeavour because it will help a lot for the hospital patients, their wards and their visitors.
The City Council passed a resolution supporting the overall development plan of BGHMC, including the planned construction of 2 multi-level parking structures within the hospital compound that seeks to provide convenience to hospital patients and their visitors.
By Dexter A. See
