BAUKO, Mountain province – The administration of the State-run Luis Hora Memorial Regional Hospital (LHMRH) announced the ongoing rehabilitation and upgrading of its extension ward that will realize the increase of the hospital’s bed capacity to 200 is around 70 percent complete.
LHRH medical center Chief Dr. Eduardo Calpito claimed that the ongoing rehabilitation and upgrading of its extension ward is expected to be completed by the third quarter of this year increasing the hospital’s bed capacity from the current 100 to 200.
He admitted the current bed capacity of the hospital exceeds the approved 100 beds by at least 40 percent because of patients from neighboring towns in the Ilocos and Cagayan Valley regions wanting to seek medical care from the regional hospital.
“We are currently maximizing our available facilities to accommodate the substantial increase in people wanting to seek medical attention from the hospital while awaiting the completion of the rehabilitation and upgrading of our extension ward probably by the third quarter this year so that we can full operate on the approved increase in bed capacity,” Calpito stressed.
The LHMRH official claimed that the improved inter-provincial and inter-regional road networks contributed in the substantial increase in the number of patients from neighboring provinces because of the significantly reduced travel time from their places to the regional hospital instead of travelling to the capital towns of the two regions just for them to avail of the needed health care services.
Calpito pointed out that despite the significant increase in the number of patients seeking medical attention from the health facility and the usual excess in the number of occupied beds, the existing hospital manpower continues to work round the clock to attend to the needs of the patients while awaiting increase in personnel from the health department based on the approved bed capacity in the coming months.
According to him, LHMRH continues to be one of the preferred health facilities in the area and the hospital management continues to make the appropriate representations with concerned government agencies and partners to allow for the smooth delivery of health care services to those seeking medical attention from them.
Calpito admitted that the Bauko area has become a virtual urban center with the temporary closure of a portion of the Halsema highway, particularly the Busa section in Sabangan town, with motor vehicles passing through the hospital area to and from the other towns of Mountain Province which had actually contributed in the continuous increase in the number of people seeking medical attention on a daily basis.
He emphasized the continuous improvement of the hospital’s existing facilities and the put up of additional health facilities funded by the health department will definitely contribute in making the regional hospital one of the medical centers capable of providing treatment to complicated health problems without having to travel outside the province.
By HENT
