PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — A newly-refurbished hospital was turned over to the armed forces’ Western Command (Wescom) here on Friday by the SM Foundation for the use of military personnel, their dependents, and authorized civilians.
The turnover of the renovated Camp General Artemio Ricarte Station Hospital (CGARSH) was led by Connie Angeles, SM Foundation’s senior assistant vice president and executive director for health and medical programs, to Wescom commander Lt. General Rozzano Briguez and other military officers, personnel, and invited guests.
Wescom spokesperson and Public Affairs Office chief, Capt. Cherryl Tindog, said Monday it is the only 20-bed capacity hospital of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) that provides treatment, surgery, and nursing care to over 6,000 soldiers and their dependents in Puerto Princesa and Palawan.
Located within the headquarters of Wescom in Barangay San Miguel, the CGARSH can accommodate around 60 to 80 patients.
“The renovation is a welcome improvement in the hospital as its fresh environment will serve our soldiers who are also taking care of the province. There dependents will also benefit from the use of the newly-refurbished CGARSH,” Tindog said.
Meanwhile, Angeles said the renovation of the military hospital is part of the SM Foundation’s health and wellness program initiative to sustain medical care to military personnel and civilians.
“For several years now, SM Foundation has been renovating and improving military health facilities not only to enhance their capacities and capabilities by way of improvement and donation of equipment but to make them more responsive and conducive to our country’s uniformed men,” Angeles said.
Tindog said Briguez expressed Wescom’s gratitude to the SM Foundation, which has been the AFP’s partner in providing the health care needs of military personnel and their families.
“Thank you for supporting our peacekeepers by committing to help in the improvement of the AFP health service facility. On behalf of the AFP, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to the SM Foundation for choosing CGARSH as one of the recipients of this project and for the completion of the newly renovated and enhanced hospital,” she quoted Briguez as saying.
The SM Foundation funded the improvements of the nurses’ station, treatment room, officers’ ward, military ward, pediatric ward, female or OB ward, physical rehabilitation area, recovery room, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and operating room (OR)/delivery room (DR) complex.
Aside from this, it added a patient’s waiting lounge, a changing room and a breastfeeding area for mothers, and renovated the pharmacy and the central supply room.
CGARSH provides outpatient care, physical therapy, physical examination, family planning, emergency room services, NP screening, preventive medicine activities and aero medical services – including search and rescue operations and medical mission in Palawan.
It is licensed by the Department of Health and accredited by Philhealth to provide Level 1 services in general medicine, general surgery, general pediatrics OB-Gyne, Anesthesia and EENT (eye, ear, nose, and throat).
The hospital is being managed by the AFP Health Service Command and is the 27th health facility given a makeover by SM Foundation. (Celeste Anna Formoso/PNA)
