A new two-story dialysis facility is being constructed at the Dennis Molintas District Hospital (DMDH) in Daclan, Bokod, Benguet.
The Benguet Information Office said the province funded the facility worth P4 million that aims to serve Bokod and nearby municipalities.
DMDH Chief of Hospital Dr. Tricia Hazelle Panangwe said the facility will house seven stations with seven units of dialysis machines.
“There are many patients who are inquiring about a dialysis facility here because they are hard up in traveling from Bokod to the Baguio General Hospital in Baguio City and the Benguet General Hospital in La Trinidad to undergo dialysis,” Panangwe said.
Aside from distance, there is always a long queue of patients, as these public hospitals offer lower cost than the private clinics offering dialysis.
The DMDH not only caters to residents of Bokod but also from nearby Kabayan and Itogon in Benguet as well as Tinoc in Ifugao and the province of Nueva Vizcaya.
The services for dialysis are for free as long as patients have their PhilHealth packages.
Panangwe also hopes that DMDH would soon be expanded as the hospital’s expansion from a 10-bed to 15-bed capacity was recently approved on March 13.
The expansion of DMDH, which is a level 1 hospital, is seen to serve the medical needs of the growing community in Bokod and its catchment areas.
Meanwhile, Department of Health Usec. Maria Rosario Vergeire has met with Benguet Gov. Melchor Diclas on April 3 to discuss the proposed Bagong Urgent Care and Ambulatory Service (BUCAS) center in Bokod.
Vergeire presented the proposed BUCAS center, which aims to address the ambulatory medical and surgical care needs of the community.
A municipal building located within Benguet State University-Bokod campus will be improved to serve as the BUCAS center.
The BUCAS Center will offer outpatient consultations, laboratory tests, minor surgeries, and emergency care, and will be operated by the DOH with Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC) overseeing operations.
It will provide urgent health care services such as minor surgeries and other ancillary services all throughout the week including weekends from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
A memorandum of agreement will soon be signed among BGHMC, DOH-CAR, BSU, Benguet PLGU, and Bokod. – Ofelia C. Empian
