By Leilanie Adriano/PNA
LAOAG CITY — The Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (MMMHMC), a premiere health care provider in northern Philippines, is set to upgrade its bed capacity from 200 to 700 beds.
This was a piece of good news shared by Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito on Monday as he graced the 51st foundation anniversary of the MMMHMC.
As chair of the committee on health and demography, Ejercito sponsored Senate Bill 2188 which was approved last February 8. The measure seeks to upgrade the Batac hospital services and facilities this year.
With the increase in hospital bed capacity of the MMMHMC, Ejercito said this will also “increase trust of our people in our public hospitals.”
He told health care providers in Batac that the country needs an additional 42,856 hospital beds to achieve the ideal ratio between hospital beds and the population.
The country only has 88,394 hospital beds, comprising 67 percent of the 131,250 required to achieve the ideal ratio, the senator added.
Marou Alamag, 38, a resident of Bantay, Ilocos Sur, said “I am so thankful for the management of MMMHMC for saving my five-year-old child from snake bite. We are very lucky to have this kind of public hospital that quickly responds to our needs even if we do not have enough money.”
Poised to become the premiere center of advance healthcare in northern Philippines, the Batac hospital is also working on the establishment of specialty centers that benefits more patients in need of the services of heart, cancer and kidney and neonatal centers.
Once fully operational, clients in need of these services could readily access the services and no longer need to travel to Metro Manila to avail these services, according to the hospital management and staff.
