Patients in the islands of Camotes and Bantayan need not travel to Cebu City for their dialysis treatments starting March next month as the Provincial Government will inaugurate hemodialysis centers in these islands.
In a meeting at the Capitol on February 22, Gov. Gwen Garcia revealed that 10 dialysis units will be installed in each of the Capitol-operated island-hospitals, namely: Bantayan District Hospital in the Municipality of Bantayan and Ricardo Maningo Memorial Hospital in San Francisco, Camotes.
Board Member Dr. Stanley Caminero, chair of the Provincial Board’s committee on public health, as well as Integrated Provincial Health Office chief Dr. Rannie Gravador and Capitol consultant Dr. Christina Giango were also present at the meeting.
These developments will provide convenient access to dialysis patients of Bantayan and Camotes as well as enable them to exponentially save on finances that travel to the city entails.
The establishment of these facilities will still be done in partnership with Medtronix Medical Supplies and Equipment which was represented by its proprietor Jona Brigida Navarro during the meeting at the Governor’s office.
Medtronix is also the Capitol’s partner in establishing 15-unit dialysis centers in both Danao Provincial Hospital and Carcar Provincial Hospital, both of which commenced operations in April last year.
In November last year, Gov. Garcia issued Memorandum No. 32-2023 addressed to all chiefs of Capitol-run hospitals that have dialysis centers, mandating them to exempt from payment of dialysis services all indigent patients duly certified by accredited social workers.
The Capitol runs four provincial hospitals and 12 district hospitals. Aside from CPH Carcar and Danao, Balamban Provincial Hospital also houses a hemodialysis center that has 10 dialysis units which will be augmented before the middle of the year to bring its total units to 25. | Jude Torres
