WVMC is dedicated facility for COVID-19 patients

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

The Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC) in Mandurriao district will become a dedicated facility for patients who test positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and Persons Under Investigation (PUI) in Western Visayas.

PUIs are persons with signs and symptoms and have travel history to infected areas.

The arrangement was reached after WVMC signed a memorandum of agreement with other hospitals in Iloilo City at the Iloilo City Hall on Tuesday, March 24, 2020.

The agreement was signed between the Department of Health government hospitals WVMC, West Visayas State University Medical Center (WVSU-MC) in Jaro district and Western Visayas Sanitarium in Santa Barbara town.

Other signatories were private hospitals in Iloilo City – St. Paul’s Hospital in City Proper, Iloilo Mission Hospital in Jaro district, QualiMed Hospital in Mandurriao district, Iloilo Doctors Hospital in City Proper, AMOSUP Seaman’s Hospital in Mandurriao district, The Medical City Iloilo (TMCI) in Molo district, Metro Iloilo Hospital and Medical Center in Jaro district, Medicus Medical Center in Mandurriao district.

Under the terms of the agreement, WVMC will allocate its 450-bed capacity for all confirmed COVID-19 cases, PUIs with severe signs and symptoms, PUIs with mild signs and symptoms, elderly who are with or without co-morbidities, non-elderly with uncontrolled co-morbidities, and severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) patients in the Region.

Dr. Mary Jane Juanico, Head of Infectious Diseases Section of the DOH Center for Health Development Region 6, said the move will focus the DOH’s resources in one facility.

The WVSU-MC will receive the first 150 to 200 non-COVID-19 cases that will be transferred from WVMC.

It will also allocate up to 212 beds and will refer to WVMC all confirmed COVID-19 cases, PUIs with severe signs and symptoms, PUIs with mild signs and symptoms, elderly who are with or without co-morbidities, non-elderly with uncontrolled co-morbidities, and SARI patients.

The WVSU-MC will also admit confirmed COVID-19 cases when the bed allocations of WVMC are exhausted.

The Western Visayas Sanitarium will be a dedicated facility for PUIs with mild signs and symptoms and non-elderly patients with controlled co-morbidities for Iloilo City and Iloilo Province.

It will also refer to WVMC all confirmed COVID-19 cases, PUIs with severe signs and symptoms, PUIs with mild signs and symptoms, elderly who are with or without co-morbidities, non-elderly with uncontrolled co-morbidities, and SARI patients in Region 6, and will receive non-COVID-19 cases when the bed allocations at WVMC, WVSU-MC, and the private hospitals become fully occupied.

The remaining private hospitals in Iloilo City who signed the agreement will allocate 10 percent of their authorized bed capacities as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility, for charity or service ward patients in addition to the 10 percent already mandated by the DOH, and will admit patients from the WVMC who can no longer be admitted by the WVSU-MC.

The Iloilo Doctors Hospital, Iloilo Mission Hospital and St. Paul’s Hospital – being Level 3 Tertiary Hospitals – will be the first to admit the spillover of patients from WVMC and WVSU-MC.

If the 20% bed allocation of the Level 3 hospitals is fully occupied, the spillover will be referred to Level 2 Tertiary hospitals such as QualiMed, Seaman’s Hospital, TMCI, Metro Iloilo Hospital and Medicus.

The DOH will pay for the costs of the bed allocations in the private hospitals.

The DOH will also form a committee to monitor the use of equipment and medical supplies from the private hospitals which will be used by the government hospitals.

However, if these private hospitals start to handle COVID-19 cases, PUIs with severe signs and symptoms, PUIs with mild signs and symptoms, elderly who are with or without co-morbidities, non-elderly with uncontrolled co-morbidities, and SARI patients, they will also be allowed to use the equipment and supplies.

Juanico said confirmed cases of COVID-19 and PUIs who are currently confined in other hospitals will continue their treatment where they are staying.

“When there is an official announcement of the new referral system, then the agreement will take effect and new PUI patients will be catered to by WVMC and Western Visayas Sanitarium,” Juanico said.

Juanico also said the new referral system will be announced within the week.

As of 12 noon of March 23, 2020, Western Visayas has two positive cases, 161 PUIs and 36,104 Persons Under Monitoring (PUM).