The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) was quick to respond to the Philippines’ need for hospital facilities that would fill in the gaps and support the healthcare system.
The DPWH Task Force for Augmentation of Health Facilities headed by Undersecretary Emil Sadain has constructed a mega modular hospital facility for emerging infectious diseases within the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) compound in Mandaluyong City to augment health facilities to deal with the present health challenges.
“The NCMH mega-hospital project with a total capacity of 130 beds strengthens the government’s preparedness to respond to the threat posed by the recent spike in cases of COVID-19 infection.”
In his report to DPWH Secretary Roger Mercado, Sadain said that the NCMH mega-hospital project with a total capacity of 130 beds strengthens the government’s preparedness to respond to the threat posed by the recent spike in cases of COVID-19 infection.
In preparation for the project turn over and hospital operation, the DPWH official together with Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary and Chief Treatment Czar Leopoldo Vega and Assistant Secretary Romeo Ong, NCMH Medical Center Chief Dr. Noel Reyes, DPWH NCR Director Nomer Abel Canlas, Bureau of Construction (BOC) Director Aristarco Doroy and Asst. Director Edgardo Garces, Metro Manila 1st District Engineer Medel Chua, and project contractors Al Tengco of Nationstar Development Corporation and Erwin Torrefiel of Technoshine Trading International inspected the completed five modular hospitals each with 22 rooms for a total of 110 beds and one intensive care unit building with 20 beds in a site developed by DPWH at NCMH.
Each air conditioned hospital room has a comfortable bed, table, chair and comfort room that will function as a quarantine/treatment facility for those afflicted by the COVID-19 virus.
On the other hand, the ICU building has an oxygen, suction, and vacuum system; infusion pump and cardiac monitoring; mechanical ventilator; and X Ray and hemodialysis machine dedicated for patients requiring high levels of medical care and complex treatment.
The completed mega hospital facility would augment the need for hospital beds of COVID-infected patients in the National Capital Region and neighboring provinces from Calabarzon and Central Luzon as hospital admissions rose anew.
Based on DOH, the Philippines is deemed again “high risk” for COVID-19 experiencing exponential rise in cases following the holiday season.
The spike in cases comes as the country recorded the presence of the Omicron variant, the most transmissible coronavirus variant, so far.
Other than the mega hospital facility, DPWH has earlier completed two cluster units of off-site dormitories for medical frontliners each with 24 fully air conditioned rooms and double decker beds with toilet and bath to accommodate 96 NCMH health workers.
From the year 2020 at the height of the pandemic brought by the surging contagion of the COVID-19, the DPWH Task Force facilitated the immediate construction of much-needed health facilities nationwide.
“Facilities completed consists of 736 units of quarantine/isolation facilities.”
“No less than 820 healthcare facilities with a total bed capacity of 30,234 were completed that augment health service nationwide,” Mercado said.
“Facilities completed consists of 736 units of quarantine/isolation facilities with 28,195 beds; 29 modular hospitals with 595 beds; and 55 off-site dormitories with 1,444 beds for medical personnel and other frontliners,” Sadain reported.
Among the modular hospital facilities that were quickly completed are at Quezon Institute-Philippine Tuberculosis Society Inc., Lung Center of the Philippines, Dr. Jose N. Rodriquez Memorial Hospital, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, V. Luna Medical Center, Pasig City General Hospital, Las Piñas General Hospital and Satellite Trauma Center, Ospital ng Maynila, Valenzuela City Emergency Hospital, Batangas Medical Center, and Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City.
