By Tara Yap
Iloilo City—The Western Visayas office of the Department of Health (DOH) has opened the country’s first mall-based clinic in this city Wednesday.
“We are breaking the ice in providing health services. We know young people want to go to health centers that are not traditional and are open beyond office hours,” said DOH-6 Regional Director Marlyn Convocar.
Managed by DOH’s Center for Health Development (CHD), the clinic known as Know Tell Health and Wellness Lounge is located at Robinsons Place Iloilo.
Speaking at Tuesday’s opening, Convocar noted the clinic is open during weekends and even holidays.
It offers free services such as screening test for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), pregnancy testing, pre-natal checks, family planning, referrals for chest X-ray, and counseling.
Joseph Carlo Carillo of DOH-CHD earlier explained Know Tell is mostly designed to serve teens and young adults, who may be afraid to seek medical consultation.
DOH-CHD is promoting the name “Know Tell” for the clinic to break down barriers associated with going to such a health facility.
It means promoting health awareness while assuring that private medical information is kept confidential.
One of DOH-CHD’s partners for free services is the Family Planning Organization of the Philippines (FPOP-Iloilo), which advocates curbing cases of HIV, sexually transmitted diseases and teen pregnancy.