ITOGON, Benguet – The 12-bed dialysis center owned by the municipal government will be fully operational by the middle of July once all the remaining works shall have been completed.
Mayor Bernard S. Waclin said that among the remaining works to be undertaken in the dialysis center include the installation of the water tanks to ensure the continuous water supply for the facility, replacement of the electrical wirings and the delivery of the necessary truck and equipment to be used in this center located at sitio Malasin, barangay Ucab.
He claimed that the establishment of the dialysis center will provide dialysis patients from the different parts of the municipality a suitable facility for their regular treatment instead of traveling to the various public and private dialysis centers in nearby Baguio City to get their treatment.
The local chief executive pointed out that the municipal government envisions to ensure the timely delivery of health care services to the residents of the municipality thus the investment in the dialysis center because of the increasing number of patients from the different barangays needing dialysis treatment who have to scramble for their schedules in the different dialysis centers in Baguio City which are already fully loaded with patients from Baguio, Benguet and other areas inside and outside the region.
Further, the municipal government is also awaiting the delivery of the additional donated beds from some mining and power generation companies operating inside and outside the town to augment the beds purchased by the municipal government for the dialysis center.
According to him, the generator set that will guarantee continuous power supply for the dialysis center was already delivered after passing the required testing in preparation for the upcoming full blast operation of the facility by the middle of next month.
Regional and local health authorities commended the municipal government under the leadership of Mayor Waclin for working extra hard to establish this dialysis center, saying that such initiative is worthy of emulation by other local governments to help decongest government hospitals and private dialysis centers.
Waclin expressed the gratitude of the municipal government to all those, who in one way or there other, worked hard for the realization of one of the major projects of the present administration which is to bring closer to the people the basic health care services with the put up and eventual operation of the dialysis center that could be easily accessed by the residents.
He also thanked the individuals and corporations that assured their all-out support to sustain the operation of the dialysis center.
Itogon is one of the five first class towns in the province and one of the three municipalities that heavily rely on mining as the source of its income to ensure the delivery of health care services and implement high impact development projects.