TWO Iloilo provincial government-run hospitals were recipients of the DOH 30 Star Awards given on Wednesday, November 14, in Metro Manila.

These are Aleosan District Hospital (ADH) in Alimodian and Dr. Ricardo Y. Ladrido Memorial Hospital (DRYLMH) in Lambunao.

The Department of Health (DOH) awarded 10 Level I hospitals, where ADH and DRYLMH belong, 10 Level II hospitals and 10 Level III hospitals or a total of 30 hospitals nationwide.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III conceptualized the DOH 30 Star Awards to encourage the hospitals to continuously improve their service and to enhance their compliance to regulatory requirements.

The hospitals were scored according to the criteria set under the following categories: Safety and infection control, service provision, customers’ and employees’ satisfaction, community-based projects/programs, and quality improvements.

Dr. Raul Banias, provincial administrator and concurrent Hospital Management Office (HMO) chief, said the awards received by the two district hospitals are the result of the hard work and dedication of the hospital personnel to improve their service as ordered by Governor Arthur Defensor, Sr.

Governor Defensor allotted more than P1 billion for the upgrading of 12 provincial government-run hospitals since 2010 under his Hospital Efficiency Assurance through Reform and Transformation (Heart) program.

The governor envisions the transformation of the once ill-equipped and dilapidated district hospitals into “modern and real hospitals for the poor” by ensuring that it has a steady supply of medicines, equipped with modern facilities and responsive hospital personnel.

Banias said the awards would mean more projects and financial assistance for ADH and DRYLMH under the DOH’s Hospital Facilities Enhancement Program. (PR)