The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has added a mega hospital facility in Mandaluyong City amid the rising number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases especially in Metro Manila.
The mega hospital was developed by DPWH and the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH), which owns the compound in Mandaluyong City.
The hospital has completed five modular hospitals, each with 22 rooms for a total of 110 beds, as well as one intensive care unit building with 20 beds intended to treat emerging infectious diseases.
Each air-conditioned hospital room has a comfortable bed, table, chair and comfort room that will function as a quarantine/treatment facility for those afflicted by the COVID-19 virus.
On the other hand, the ICU building has an oxygen, suction, and vacuum system; infusion pump and cardiac monitoring; mechanical ventilator; and X Ray and hemodialysis machine dedicated for patients requiring high levels of medical care and complex treatment.
Among the modular hospital facilities that were quickly completed are at Quezon Institute-Philippine Tuberculosis Society Inc., Lung Center of the Philippines, Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital, National Kidney and Transplant Institute.
DPWH officials led by Undersecretary Emil K. Sadain, who also heads the department’s Task Force for Augmentation of Health Facilities, inspected the facility last Tuesday, Jan. 4.
In his report to DPWH Secretary Roger G. Mercado, Sadain said that the NCMH mega-hospital project with a total capacity of 130 beds will solidify the country's preparedness to respond to the threat posed by the recent spike in cases of COVID-19 infection.
In the latest report of the Department of Health (DOH), the country is again at the “high risk” level for COVID-19 after the exponential rise in positive cases following the holiday season.
As of Thursday, Jan.6, the Philippines recorded 17, 220 cases. The spike is due to the presence of the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
Other than the mega hospital facility, the department has earlier completed two cluster units of off-site dormitories for medical front-liners each with 24 fully air conditioned rooms and double decker beds with toilet and bath to accommodate 96 NCMH health workers.
Since last year at the height of the pandemic brought by the surging contagion of the COVID-19, the DPWH Task Force facilitated the immediate construction of much-needed health facilities nationwide.
“To date, no less than 820 healthcare facilities with a total bed capacity of 30,234 were completed that augment health service nationwide,” said Sadain.
“Facilities completed consists of 736 units of quarantine/isolation facilities with 28,195 beds; 29 modular hospitals with 595 beds; and 55 off-site dormitories with 1,444 beds for medical personnel and other front-liners,” he added.
Aside from Sadain, also present during the inspection were DOH Undersecretary and Chief Treatment Czar Leopoldo J. Vega and Assistant Secretary Romeo A. Ong, NCMH Medical Center Chief Dr. Noel V. Reyes, DPWH NCR Director Nomer Abel P. Canlas, Bureau of Construction (BOC) Director Aristarco Doroy and Asst. Director Edgardo Garces, Metro Manila 1st District Engineer Medel Chua, and project contractors Al Tengco of Nationstar Development Corporation and Erwin Torrefiel of Technoshine Trading International.
Also part of this are the V. Luna Medical Center, Pasig City General Hospital, Las Piñas General Hospital and Satellite Trauma Center, Ospital ng Maynila, Valenzuela City Emergency Hospital, Batangas Medical Center, and Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City.