CEBU CITY – Building a mental health rehabilitation center in Bohol province is being eyed in response to a tragic incident in a private hospital where a nurse was fatally stabbed by a male patient.

REP. Aumentado

Bohol second district Rep. Vanessa Aumentado said she will push for a legislative measure that will help build the facility in the province.

Aumentado said by having a mental rehab center in the province, people hounded by mental issues will have a facility to turn to help address their problem.

The facility will help prevent a repeat of the incident at the Bohol Doctors’ Hospital in Tagbilaran City where a 51-year-old female nurse was repeatedly stabbed with a pair of scissors by a male patient. It was learned that the attacker had a history of illegal drug use.

Aumentado, a licensed nurse herself, condemned the killing.

She is the co-author of House Bill (HB) 6416 also known as An Act Strengthening the Mental Health Services of the State Universities and Colleges and Appropriating Funds and HB 6574 also known as An Act Strengthening the Promotion and Delivery of Mental Health Services in Basic Education through Hiring and Development of Mental Health Professionals and Appropriating Funds.

The congresswoman’s husband, Gov. Aris Aumentado, said the province will engage in a joint venture to fast-track the construction of the rehab center.

Gov. Aumentado recalled that when he was still a member of the House of Representatives, he authored a bill that would build a drug rehabilitation center in the province. The bill did not hurdle the Senate, the governor said.

This time, Gov. Aumentado welcomed the two bills that his wife proposed in the House.

Gov. Aumentado admitted that the nurse’s death at the hands of a patient was alarming.

The governor advised health workers and hospital management to take precautionary measures to prevent similar incidents from happening again.