URDANETA: A total of 26 super health centers will be constructed in Pangasinan this year, with the groundbreaking of the first facility located at the mountainous part of Sison town held on Thursday. Senator Christopher Lawrence Go, during the groundbreaking ceremony, said the Department of Health (DOH) is the lead implementing agency for the construction of the health facilities, which cost around PHP10 million to PHP15 million each. "Super health center is a medium-type of polyclinic that has services like dental, laboratory, X-ray, birthing facility, and other medical services. It will help decongest hospitals since residents can already avail of primary care in this center," he said in his speech. In a press conference, Go, chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, said there are already more than 600 super health centers around the country, 307 of which were constructed in 2022 and 322 in the following year. He said the centers will benefit mostly the residents in rural areas who have less access to primary health care, especially now with the implementation of the Universal Health Care Law. The super health centers will have services from an outpatient clinic and consultation, pharmacy and dispensary, primary clinical laboratory, clinical microscopy, microbiology/parasitology, radiology, birthing and lying-in, TB consultation with direct sputum smear processing, and microscopy capability. Sison town Mayor Danilo Uy thanked the national government for the construction of the health facility, citing that it will greatly benefit those living in hard-to-reach areas, where indigenous peoples (IPs) live. Meanwhile, Go said the Region 1 Medical Center, located in Dagupan City, and other regional hospitals in the Ilocos Region will have specialty centers catering to heart, cancer, geriatric, and mental health patients, among others, through Republic Act 11959 (An Act Establishing Specialty Centers in DOH Hospitals in Every Region and in Government-owned or -Controlled Corporation Specialty Hospitals). " The residents of Pangasinan need not go to Manila or other regions to avail of these medical services and (this) would save them money, time, and effort," he added. Source: Philippines News Agency
