BACOLOD CITY - The city government of Bacolod has put up its own “One Hospital Command Center (OHCC)”, which was acknowledged as one of the best practices in Cebu City when it was trying to curb the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
The centralized hospital command center will facilitate better management and use of information from Bacolod hospitals on COVID-19 cases.
The operation of the OHCC was among the major subjects discussed during the meeting of Mayor Evelio Leonardia and City Administrator Em Ang with the medical directors of the city hospitals this week, in the presence of Mel Feliciano, National Inter-Agency Task Force (NIATF)-Visayas chief implementer, who briefed the medical directors on the features of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) operations where the hospitals’ cooperation was needed. He also expressed satisfaction over the performance and progress of the EOC.
The OHCC includes a call center manned by agents for tele-consultation and education. Teams under this center will also be deployed to coordinate hospital admissions and out-of-town hospital transfers, as well as manage medical transport and data analytics.
With the recent development, Feliciano said that he expected a “healthy curve” in the COVID-19 pattern in the city. But he also pointed out that “the numbers could still rise before it goes down.”
As of September 17, Bacolod has recorded a total of 2,936 cases, including 36 deaths, 1,352 recoveries, and 1,548 active cases.
During the meeting, Leonardia also relayed that he already requested NTF Against COVID-19 Chief Implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. to send additional nurses as augmentation personnel to the city.
Leonardia said he was optimistic that Bacolod will be “given priority” with regard its current COVID-19 situation and the recent passage of the Bayanihan 2 Act.
“Let’s shoot for the stars, but let’s also be realistic. It may not probably be 100 percent. But what’s important is, we have already established how many nurses we need,” Leonardia said after the hospital directors submitted their requests.
Meanwhile, the Sangguniang Panlungsod recently passed an ordinance creating the “Bacolod Healthcare Coordination Committee for COVID-19 Patients.”
The creation of this new committee was aimed at facilitating the transmission of critical and medical information from Bacolod hospitals to the EOC, based at the MassKara Hall of the Bacolod City Government Center, on a daily basis. The data transmitted will be used in planning, monitoring, and resource allocation.
The committee will function as a coordinating body for hospital cooperation in sharing of best practices, as a forum for discussion of issues, and as a source of information for city officials to be able to formulate policies and programs to address healthcare needs of the Bacolodnons.
In relation to Bacolod’s enhanced data synchronization and management, EOC Deputy Chief for Medical Dr. Hector Gayares requested the medical directors to assign one hospital data officer who will provide relevant hospital data to the command system.
“It is very important the integrity of data, meaning to say, the timeliness, the accurateness, and all those other things,” he stressed.
Gayares said the numbers were there but they would also need the story behind the numbers so they can put it in the analysis.