Iloilo prov’l hospital achieves Level 2 status

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

The Iloilo Provincial Hospital (IPH) now offers improved medical and health services to the Ilonggos after successfully attaining Level 2 status from the Department of Health (DOH).

Provincial Hospital Chief Dr. Alberto Cordero stated that, since its 2018 upgrade, the IPH has transitioned from merely offering consulting services to providing departmentalized clinical services tailored to the specific needs of rhe patients.

“It means we have 24/7 major departments manned by competent doctors trained in their respective specialty programs,” he said.

The province-run hospital has now established departments for surgery or orthopedics, pediatrics, obstetrics gynecology, internal medicine, anesthesia, radiology, and the outpatient department.

In addition to departmentalization, the IPH has a newly established Adult Intensive Care Unit, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Level III Clinical Laboratory, Respiratory Units, Radiology Department equipped with Mobile X-ray, CT Scan, 2D Echocardiography facility that can cater both pedia and adult patients, and laparoscopy machine.

The facility is equipped with a COVID-19 molecular laboratory, a five-room isolation ward designed with negative pressure, a High-Risk Pregnancy Unit, a laparoscopic surgery machine for minimally invasive procedures, CT scan equipment, and a 75KW solar photovoltaic rooftop system.

Cordero emphasized that, as a Level II hospital, the IPH is better equipped to provide medical services, from emergency care to specialized treatments, and preventive health programs.

The IPH operates with a 175-bed capacity and has an occupancy rate of 88.54 percent.

Most patients served are residents from the towns of Dingle, Duenas, Leganes, Mina, New Lucena, Pototan, and Zarraga.

The IPH is the first province-run hospital in Iloilo to achieve Level 2 status out of the 13 district hospitals operated by the provincial government.

Third district of Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor and Uswag Ilonggo Partylist Rep. Jojo Ang have pledged to provide P100 million to the IPH for its medical assistance program or to provide medical assistance to patients seeking consultation, rehabilitation, examination, or confinement in the facility.

Defensor, Ang, Provincial Administrator Raul Banias, Pototan Mayor Rafael Enrique Lazaro, and DOH Assistant Regional Director Dr. Maria Sophia Pulmones led the unveiling of the marker at the facility on December 14.