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Wednesday, April 16, 2003
Cordi hospitals incapable of handling Sars patients
By Harley F. Palangchao
HERE'S a potential scare for residents of Baguio and nearby areas.
None of the many hospitals in the region is capable of handling suspected or potential Sars cases, Dr. Erwin Baclig, head of the DOH-Epidemiology and Surveillance Division admitted Tuesday.
He also said that the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center has been accepting patients suspected to be showing symptoms of the atypical killer pneumonia.
It was in BGHMC where two Overseas Filipino Workers, who just recently came from Hong Kong, were admitted and confined in isolation after complaining of fever and cough. The two OFWs were reportedly discharged from the hospital last week.
Even the St. Louis University Hospital of the Sacred Heart, which is considered a modern hospital, reportedly claimed that it does not have the capability in handling suspected or potential Sars patients, Baclig added.
Other sentinel hospitals in Baguio like the Pines Doctors, Sto. Niņo, Filipino-Chinese and the Benguet General Hospital in nearby La Trinidad town, also admitted they have no facilities to accommodate SARS patients.
"It really requires huge amount (of money) to maintain a facility for suspected or potential SARS patients. The only institution that has the capability of handling SARS patients is the RITM (Research Institute on Tropical Medicine) based in Alabang," Baclig said.
Meanwhile, Baclig reported that the DOH-CAR has organized the formation of a crisis committee that would handle any suspected or potential SARS victim in the region.
Since its creation last week, Baclig said that the committee has been receiving referral and inquiry calls from concerned residents getting more information about the disease.
Baclig claimed that most of the callers are immediate family members and relatives of OFWs in Sars-stricken countries like Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.
Over the weekend, Baguio Councilor Richard Cariņo has urged the DOH-CAR to conduct massive information about the Sars symptoms and the measures required to avoid acquiring the dreaded viral disease.
(April 16, 2003 issue)
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