Eastern Samar lone district Rep. Maria Fe Abunda wants to convert the Eastern Samar Provincial Hospital in Borognan, Samar into the Eastern Samar Medical Center and increase its ability to respond to growing health concerns.
Abunda filed House No. 7074 to call for efficient healthcare system, and modernization of hospitals, especially those located in far-flung provinces such as Eastern Samar.
“It is imperative that the Eastern Samar Provincial Hospital be upgraded into a Tertiary Level III Regional Hospital. The province of Eastern Samar is home to roughly 467, 160 estehanons whose medical needs have to be met,” she said.
The neophyte lawmaker said the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the lack of medical equipment and supplies in their provincial hospital, making it imperative for the proposed conversion to increase its bed capacity to 30 and upgrade its facilities and augment the number of personnel in the hospital to be able to cater to the needs of the people of Samar.
"There is not a single ventilator nor is there a dialysis machine that is available in the provincial hospital or any other hospital within the province of Eastern Samar. Many of the residents of Eastern Samar would have to travel at least four hours to Tacloban, Leyte to receive the appropriate and necessary healthcare,” Abunda said.
It also aims to provide affordable tertiary health care and the necessary medical equipment such as but not limited to ventilators, dialysis machines, medicines, and X-rays.
The bill also seeks to provide teaching, training, and research facilities for students in nursing, and medicine and other health professions in the province of Samar.
It provides that the proposed Eastern Samar Medical Center shall be under the full administrative and technical supervision, control and management of the Department of Health (DOH).
The bill tasks the DOH to issue the implementing rules and regulations of the proposed Act.