Governor Pamela Baricuatro is putting her healthcare promises into action. As part of her administration’s goal to strengthen Cebu’s health system, at least P650 million has been allocated this year for infrastructure improvements in provincial and district hospitals.
The announcement was made by Capitol Piso Health Consultant Dr. Nikki Catalan during her interview with Beyond the Headlines by SunStar Cebu.
“I was informed by our provincial administrator before coming here that we will set aside P650 million for the infrastructure improvements of our hospitals,” said Dr. Catalan.
Upgrading Hospital Facilities Across Cebu
The proposed allocation will fund projects aimed at upgrading infirmaries to Level 1 facilities and Level 1 facilities to Level 2. This capital outlay is in addition to the regular operational budgets of these hospitals.
Currently, among Cebu’s 16 Capitol-run hospitals, there are:
- 10 infirmaries
- 4 Level 1 facilities
- 2 Level 2 facilities
“Things don’t happen overnight. While some might want you to fail, we really want this to work because lives are at stake,” Dr. Catalan emphasized.
Comprehensive Health System Improvements
Beyond infrastructure, the Capitol is actively working on:
- Hiring more medical personnel, including doctors, specialists, and nurses
- Ensuring timely distribution of funds for medicines and ambulance fuel
- Purchasing necessary medical supplies
These measures aim to rebuild trust in provincial hospitals and ensure that no Cebuano is left behind.
“We need to rebuild and regain the trust of the people by ensuring dili sila mamatay inig abot sa atong mga provincial hospitals,” Dr. Catalan said.
Medical and Surgical Missions as Stop-Gap Measures
The provincial government has been conducting province-wide medical and surgical missions, with the fourth edition held in Carcar City last weekend. These missions provide free and quality healthcare services while the administration works on strengthening permanent hospital capacity.
“The medical and surgical missions are just stop-gap measures while the Capitol is preparing to make these services available in the province-run hospitals,” Dr. Catalan explained.
Strong Public-Private Cooperation
The Capitol’s healthcare programs gain strong support from private medical professionals, praised as heroic by Dr. Catalan.
“Sometimes makahilak ko. They are stalwarts in their field of expertise and have been performing free surgeries, even though their participation during weekends takes valuable time away from them,” she said.
Dr. Catalan highlighted the joy and fulfillment of seeing patients recover:
“When you see patients going home sooner, and they tag you in a post saying naka uli na akong nanay, it makes me so happy.”
She praised DOH and PhilHealth for supporting the province’s healthcare initiatives.
A Vision for Faster, Closer, and Kinder Care
Governor Baricuatro’s administration remains committed to delivering faster, closer, and kinder care and service to Cebuanos. The province boosts hospital upgrades, staff, and community programs to build a stronger, accessible healthcare system.
This article is now fully optimized for SEO, structured with subheadings for clarity, and highlights:
- P650 million hospital infrastructure allocation
- Upgrades to hospital levels
- Recruitment of medical personnel
- Province-wide medical missions
- Public-private cooperation
