The provincial government of Sarangani has allocated some PHP48.5 million as funding support for residents in need of advanced and critical care services in private hospitals here.
Sarangani Gov. Steve Chiongbian Solon said Monday the funds would be utilized for the hospitalization and other related needs of indigent patients from the province’s seven municipalities who would be admitted to a Level 3 hospital.
He said the local government has standing arrangements, through memorandums of agreement (MOAs), with several private hospitals in the city for the referral of patients from the area.
The local government has set aside some PHP26 million for the hospitalization assistance under the MOA, PHP12 million in augmentation funding under the Assistance to Individual in Crisis Situation program, and PHP10.5 million in emergency assistance through the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation.
The governor assured the provincial government will continue implementing these support programs through its flagship Sulong Kalusugan initiative.
“These remain among our top priorities as we continue to enhance our health services,” he said in a statement.
Solon said the fund will also sustain the expansion and upgrading of the province’s municipal and district hospitals this year in partnership with the Department of Health (DOH) and other concerned stakeholders.
The DOH approved early this month the upgrading of the Glan Medicare Community Hospital (GMCH) in Glan town into a Level 1 facility.
It is the third local government-supported hospital to achieve such status after the Dr. Cornelio Martinez Sr. Memorial Hospital in Kiamba town and the Sarangani provincial hospital in Alabel town.
Solon said the DOH has so far released around PHP100 million for the construction of additional facilities and expansion of the hospital, and an additional PHP21 worth of facilities has been approved for the further upgrading of its equipment.
As a Level 1 facility, he said GMCH’s operating and delivery rooms are now fully functional and it can already conduct surgical operations like cesarean section delivery and appendectomy.
The governor said they are also pushing for the approval soon of the application for Level 1 status of the Malungon municipal hospital.
He said they will also continue with the expansion and improvement of the services at the provincial hospital, which is eyed to become a tertiary or Level 2 facility. (PNA)
