By Michael Mugas/Philippine News Agency
BATAC CITY — The Department of Health-Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (DOH-RITM) gave two awards to the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (MMMHMC) for its successful implementation of a national surveillance program geared toward the global battle against antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
These awards include Most Outstanding Sentinel Site for MMMHMC and Best Hospital Report for 2018.
Dr. Modesty A. Leaño, head of the hospital’s pathology department, on Tuesday said the awards given to MMMHMC serves as a “recognition to the hospital’s commitment with DOH’s mandate to fight AMR which is usually a concern that is ignored but is actually becoming a growing public concern and is putting all of us at risk.”
According to the 2018 Annual Report of the DOH, AMR is considered a serious public health threat as it makes treatment of various infections more challenging and compromises the achievements of modern medicine including organ transplant, cancer chemotherapy, and major surgery.
For more than 10 years now, the MMMHMC has been identified, together with other 23 hospitals across the country, as a sentinel site for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Program (ARSP) of the DOH.
“Our role in the hospital as a sentinel site revolves around being the center in Region 1 (Ilocos Region) wherein laboratory data are timely processed and gathered which are vital to the utilization of clinical practice guidelines and relevant policies towards the treatment, prevention, and control of the resistant infection,” Leaño said.
The MMMHMC was able to garner an overall score of 94.17 percent, one of the highest among all sentinel sites in the country.
“The DOH has always acknowledged the challenges of limited staff support and resources in implementing the surveillance program but the award is truly a good measure that our hospital is manned by skilled staff that contributed in garnering the award as best sentinel site for 2018,” Leaño said.
Through the awards, the hospital’s management reaffirmed its commitment to double its efforts in building a stronger connection among all practicing clinicians, referring government and private hospitals with MMMHMC.
“This connection and partnership is highly important if we are to ensure effective provision of health services and patient care in the community,” Leaño added.
In 2018, the World Health Organization estimated that around 700,000 people die of AMR complications and it is projected that 10 million people will die due to this by 2050.
The WHO has been actively strengthening partnerships with various government, private institutions, and civil organizations to implement activities underlining the global action plan on antimicrobial resistance.
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