TABUK CITY, Kalinga – Tabuk continues to show the way in the planning and implementation of big-ticket projects that will have a significant impact in the delivery of quality health care services to its rapidly increasing population with the planned put up of a city-owned and managed hospital.
Mayor Darwin C. Estrañero disclosed that initially, the city government purchased a 5-hectare property in Barangay Appas which is an ideal site for the proposed hospital to improve the availability of health care facilities for the effective and efficient treatment of illnesses of people not only from the city and the province but also from neighboring localities inside and outside the Cordillera.
He stated that the city government is currently processing the requirements for the accreditation by the health department of the proposed city-owned hospital that is aimed to operate as a Level 1 health care facility pursuant to prescribed standards.
The completion of the hospital will make Tabuk the first local government in the Cordillera to put up the first local government-funded, owned and managed health facility aside from it being the first local government in Northern Luzon to put up a local government-funded molecular laboratory which will be operational soon.
“We want that the potentials of Tabuk as the future growth area will be maximized that is why we are establishing the appropriate facilities to serve the rapidly increasing population, especially in terms of the delivery of quality health care services which is one of the major services that were downloaded to the local governments,” Mayor Estrañero stressed. The local chief executive stipulated that the construction period for the hospital will be a minimum of 2 years and a maximum of 3 years and that the same will be provided by government financial lending institution and possible partner.
According to him, health is one of the major services that should be provided by the government to the people that is why the city government embarked on the aforesaid project as healthy people will contribute to the robust development of the city.
He explained that what makes the budget for the put up of the hospital quite high are the modern medical equipment to ensure that there will be quality delivery of health care services once it is operational so that there will be satisfaction among the clients of the health facility.
The city mayor said that ground levelling works are currently being undertaken by the local government as preparatory works once the city government and the government financial lending institution shall have finalized the deal for the release of the latter’s loan to pave the way for the eventual implementation and completion of the proposed health facility. By HENT