DOH-6 wellness clinic offers free care at SM Iloilo

By Mariela Angella Oladive

ILOILO CITY — The Department of Health Western Visayas Center for Health Development (DOH WV CHD) is bringing selected free government health services closer to the public through its mall-based Wellness Clinic at SM City Iloilo.

Located on the ground floor of the mall, the clinic operates from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday to Friday, and offers nonurgent ambulatory and preventive health services.

DOH WV CHD OIC-Assistant Regional Director Dr. Mary Pauline A.C. Gestosani urged the public to avail of the services.

Among its basic services are family planning, campaigns on family planning and safe-sex practices, and HIV awareness activities, including testing, counseling, and referral to treatment hubs.

The clinic also provides preventive services such as life-stage immunization and vaccination campaigns.

For common outpatient concerns, the clinic offers consultations, screening for red flags, identification of conditions requiring referral, and prescriptions or dispensing of appropriate medicines following consultation.

It also provides screening and treatment for selected noncommunicable diseases, including hypertension and diabetes mellitus.

Maternal health services are available, including antenatal care, screening for anemia and gestational diabetes, fetal Doppler assessment, provision of folic acid and iron supplements, recommended immunizations, and referral of high-risk pregnancies.

Other preventive services include deworming, oral health screening and assessment, and oral health campaigns.

The clinic also offers selected optional services such as tuberculosis consultation and clinical assessment, cancer screening through clinical breast examinations and Pap smears, nonlaboratory facility-based testing for common sexually transmitted infections, and rehabilitation services for selected conditions.

The DOH WV CHD expects the facility to serve about 600 patients a month.

In August alone, the clinic recorded 128 clients.

At present, the clinic is staffed by one team composed of a physician, nurse, midwife, medical technologist, and assistant.

The agency is considering adding another team to expand services and possibly extend operations to Saturdays and Sundays.

Additional personnel would also help ensure that staff do not exceed the prescribed 40-hour workweek, as the current workforce is contract-based.

“The mall setting allows the DOH to reach more people by bringing health services closer to the public, particularly in a high-traffic location where many people regularly converge,” Gestosani said.

The Wellness Clinic is part of the DOH’s effort to make primary and preventive health care more accessible by bringing government services closer to communities.

The initiative was approved by Health Secretary Teodoro J. Herbosa in 2025 and formalized through a memorandum of agreement between the DOH, SM Prime Holdings Inc., and Shopping Center Management Corp.

The agreement was signed on Feb. 26, 2025.