RESIDENTS in the municipality of Medina in Misamis Oriental will soon avail of quality health services once the town's hospital will resume its operations.
On Friday, Misamis Oriental Governor Oscar Moreno and officials of the Department of Health (DOH), Provincial Health Office and the local government unit of Medina will hold the groundbreaking of the hospital's renovation, which was in full operation in the 1980s but was closed down due to lack of funds.
Dr. Ignacio B. Moreno, Misamis Oriental provincial health officer II, said the planned re-opening of Medina Hospital was made possible through the effort of Presidential Assistant for Mindanao Pacifico "Jojo" Pupos, who was able to get funding from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, which was released through the DOH.
Dr. Moreno said prior to its closure, the hospital was a 15-bed-capacity infirmary serving the people of Medina but after its closure, patients will have to travel to the provincial hospitals in Talisayan town, Gingoog City or in Cagayan de Oro for treatment.
"The re-opening of the hospital in Medina is one way of decongesting the Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC) and the other provincial hospitals in Misamis Oriental. This is also an innovation for revenue because the province wants the hospitals to be an economic enterprise. Lisod man kung pirme na lang libre," he said.
Based on initial talks, Dr. Moreno said the hospital will be managed by the LGU of Medina but hospital staff will be provided by NMMC.
Meanwhile, Dr. Moreno said the province's Level II hospitals, which included the provincial hospitals in Gingoog City, Talisayan, Balingasag, Manticao and Initao, will start conducting operations for patients with cleft lip and palate in February in cooperation with the 700 Club.
This, aside from the operations these hospitals are already conducting on patients with cataracts.