The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has turned over new hospital facilities in Quezon City and Mandaluyong City amid the continuous rise of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the country.
The department has turned over a total of 178 beds to be added to the available healthcare facilities of three hospitals, the East Avenue Medical Center (EAMC) and National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) in Quezon City, as well as the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) in Mandaluyong City.
DPWH Secretary Roger G. Mercado commended the efforts of the men and women of the department, particularly DPWH Undersecretary Emil K. Sadain, Task Force for Augmentation of Health Facilities chief, for leading the construction of the said facilities.
“Since the pandemic hit in 2020, the DPWH thru Task Force for Augmentation of Health Facilities headed by Undersecretary Sadain never became complacent and have been relentless in planning and implementing projects that are vital in supporting the Philippines healthcare system,” said Mercado.
In Quezon last Monday, Jan. 10 Sadain led the formal turnover rites for the dormitory facility to EAMC Medical Center Chief Dr. Alfonso G. Nuñez III and Chief Medical Professional Staff Dr. Alan Troy D. Baquir.
The dormitory is a temporary living quarters that the DPWH Quezon City 2nd District Engineering Office built with 32 rooms meant to improve the billeting conditions of EAMC front-liners dealing with the health situation.
DPWH Quezon City 2nd District Engineering Office (DEO) headed by District Engineer Eduardo Santos also completed and led the turn over to the management of National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) a 16-bed hospital facility made of converted container vans equipped with healthcare amenities, and two stations for doctors and nurses.
In Mandaluyong City, the Department of Health (DOH) also formally received the DPWH-built mega modular hospital facilities for emerging infectious diseases at the NCMH compound.
DPWH National Capital Region (NCR) Director Nomer Abel P. Canlas and DPWH Metro Manila First District Engineer Medel F. Chua represented Secretary Mercado and Undersecretary Sadain in the turnover of facilities to DOH Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega, DOH Assistant Secretaries Elmer Punzalan and Romeo Ong, and NCMH Medical Center Chief Noel V. Reyes.
The DPWH NCR and Metro Manila First District Engineering Office jointly implemented the site development and putting up of the NCMH hospital facilities composed of five cluster units of modular hospital each with 22 rooms for a total of 110 beds and one modular intensive care unit building with 20 beds.
“We hope that through the additional health facilities, we have contributed to the government’s response in dealing with the unprecedented hike of individuals infected by COVID-19 and other infectious diseases,” said Sadain.
By the end of 2021, the department has about 820 healthcare facilities with a total bed capacity of 30,234 that were completed to augment health service nationwide.
The facilities completed consist 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.