The Sto. Niño Hospital, which the city government originally planned as a treatment center for positive coronavirus disease-2019 (Covid-19) patients, will now be used as an extension facility for dialysis patients infected by the virus.
City Health Services Office Head Rowen Galpo said works for the revitalization of the hospital are ongoing, even if the earlier plan will not be implemented.
“We did not stop the process we have undertaken to refurbish the hospital. The generator, which was not used for 10 years now, has been revived. The septic tank was emptied and repainting has been done,” she said.
Galpo said instead of serving as a Covid-19 treatment center, Sto. Niño will now be dedicated for dialysis patients affected by the disease.
She said the Department of Health has committed two dialysis machines to be used in the hospital.
The plan to use the hospital as a critical care unit was trumped by stringent requirements by the national government that will require a long time to process.
City Administrator Bonifacio dela Peña said with the outpouring of support from the government and the private sectors, the hospital will be up and running on target on April 14.
He said rooms will just the same be prepared to take in patients should the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center get overwhelmed and run out of beds.
Mayor Bejamin Magalong said the situation calls for the city government to prepare stand-by facilities.
“Even if we in Baguio are capable of controlling our cases, other areas may not and they are bound to come to us and we will not turn them away,” the mayor said.
“It will not be an issue of whether Baguio should only be spending for its constituents. It is Baguio helping our fellow Filipinos,” the mayor said. – Jane B. Cadalig with reports from Aileen P. Refuerzo
