HEALTH officials inaugurated the region’s first Bone Densitometry Unit at the Eastern Visayas Medical Center (EVMC) in Tacloban City Tuesday, August 3, 2021.

EVMC chief Dr. Salvador Evardone said they are positioning to be an end-referral medical Center for Geriatrics by 2022, “providing multidisciplinary specialized services to address priority needs of the community, especially for the senior citizens.”

The regional health department said bone density scanning, also called dual-energy X-Ray absorptiometry (DXA) or bone densitometry, is a non-invasive enhanced form of X-ray technology that is used to measure bone loss.

“DXA is today's established gold standard for measuring bone mineral density (BMD) for the diagnosis of Osteoporosis, a condition that affects 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men over the age of 50,” the department said.

On behalf of Department of Health-Eastern Visayas director Dr. Exuperia Sabalberino, Dr. Kirsten Mae Yu, head of the Health Facilities Development Unit, also stressed the significance of the Bone Densitometry Unit in the medical center’s pursuit to materialize quality and universal health care in the region.

The opening and blessing ceremony of the EVMC Bone Densitometry Unit was attended by Dr. Ofelia Alcantara, member of Multi-sectoral Council and other health officials. (SunStar Philippines)