GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 22 Feb) – The provincial government of Sarangani is pushing for the operationalization by the third quarter of the year of its P250-million provincial hospital in Alabel town.
Dr. Arvin Alejandro, Sarangani provincial health officer, said the facility is now about 70 percent finished and they are targeting the full completion of its vital structures sections before the planned opening.
He said they will initially operate the hospital either as an infirmary or Level 1 facility, with a capacity of 15 to 20 beds.
Last week, he said they conducted a testing and commissioning of the hospital’s generator sets, elevator and medical gas pipe.
Alejandro said they installed two units of 625 kilo-volt-ampere or kVA generator sets for the hospital, which is being constructed in a 3,500-sq. meter area at the provincial capitol grounds in Barangay Maribulan, Alabel.
“It’s so far, so good. But we saw some components that need improvement before the final turnover,” he said in an interview over Brigada News TV here.
The official said the Department of Health (DOH) and the provincial government have already spent around P150 million for the project.
The hospital’s construction started in 2012 through an initial P50-million grant from the DOH’s Health Facilities Enhancement Program. Another P75 million was later released as augmentation.
The agency allotted some P20 million for the acquisition of hospital equipment and P5 million for the construction of a two-story outpatient department and its operating room foundation.
Alejandro said they expect the release in the coming weeks of an additional P200 million from the national government to facilitate the project’s completion.
He said such allocation is through the “facilitative efforts” of Senator Emmanuel Pacquiao, Sarangani Gov. Steve Chiongbian Solon and Sarangani Rep. Rogelio Pacquiao.
“Hopefully, with the release of the P200 million, we will complete the ancillary buildings and other structures like the kitchen or dietary section,” he said.
When fully completed, Alejandro said the provincial hospital will have a capacity of 200 beds and operate as a tertiary facility.
He said it is expected to initially cater to patients from Alabel and neighboring Malapatan town, which have no government-run hospitals.
“Once the quality of its services improve, it might even accommodate patients from other towns, Davao del Sur and General Santos City,” he added. (MindaNews)
