“HAVE mercy on us” this was the appeal of the employees of Bacolod Our Lady of Mercy Specialty Hospital (BOLMSH) to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), as they called the agency to reconsider the accreditation of the hospital.
"We are all worried about the future of our families because of the threat to our employment," said BOLMSH employee’s union president Santi Mamon in a press conference Thursday, July 19, at the hospital premises.
Mamon was joined by the affected employees and Noly Rosales of National Federation of Labor Union-Kilusang Mayo Uno (NAFLU-KMU).
Mamon added: "We hope and pray that the motion for reconsideration filed by the management to PhilHealth to re-accredit the hospital will have a favorable result soon because we all rely on our means of livelihood to the hospital operation."
July 22 is the last day of their notice of termination.
But during the press conference, they received a letter from Negros Healthcare Management System Inc. president and chief executive officer Dr. Ernesto Amante that the date of the termination of their employment on July 22 is extended to July 31, which is quite a relief to all of the employees present yesterday.
The extension of the date of the termination of their employment was due to the commitment of PhilHealth that it will facilitate the renewal of the accreditation and the payment of PhilHealth of its arrears to BOLMSH.
To date, the said accreditation and payment of arrears have not been realized that constrained BOLMSH to extend the date of the employees' termination so as to give ample time to PhilHealth to process the accreditation as well as the payment of arrears to BOLMSH.
In the event that PhilHealth will make true to its commitment to renew the accreditation and pay the arrears to BOLMSH, the termination of their employment with BOLMSH may become moot and academic.
On the other hand, the employees concerned felt a relief upon receiving the extension of termination.
They all hope and pray that everything will soon be back to normal.
As of Thursday, the 200-bed capacity BOLMSH still treats more than 33 patients and 80 dialysis patients.
It continues to accept admissions of patients, but a significant number of its regular patients have already transferred to other hospitals in Bacolod citing the crisis faced by BOLMSH and its employees.
Meanwhile, Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia, in a press release, thanked the PhilHealth national office for its assurance to him to evaluate the appeal for re-accreditation of BOLMSH, which was revoked starting March this year.
Leonardia again wrote Dr. Roy Ferrer, acting president and chief executive officer of PhilHealth, recently to express his gratitude.
“Thank you very much for your reply. Your quick response gives the City of Bacolod a glimmer of hope amidst the fear of possible closure of the BOLMSH,” he said.
“Your assurance that the appeal of BOLMSH will be acted upon based on the best interests of the public brings much comfort. Indeed, access to affordable and efficient health care is one of the essential and indispensable services [that] we, as public officials, strive to support,” the mayor added.
The eventual resolution of the appeal shall also determine the plight of more than 400 employees of BOLMSH and their families, Leonardia added in his letter.
The re-accreditation of BOLMSH, now under the management of Negros Healthcare Management Systems Inc., was withdrawn by its Regional Accreditation Committee (RAC) starting March this year.
The BOLMSH then filed for a motion for reconsideration with the RAC to grant its re-accreditation from March to December 2018.
In his first letter to Ferrer, Leonardia said the non-accreditation of the 200-bed health facility would result in its closure, which will affect its more than 400 personnel and its 231 dialysis patients.
The BOLMSH is dubbed “Hospital for the Poor” and has been the preferred healthcare provider of middle and low-income patients of Bacolod City, and even of the province of Negros Occidental, he said.
“As a fast-growing city, Bacolod cannot afford to lose a big hospital which caters to the low-income patients in the city and gives employment to its constituents,” Leonardia wrote.
In reply, Ferrer assured Leonardia that, “I have instructed our [Regional] Accreditation Committee to discuss the appeal of BOLMSH in their next meeting, so the matter can be discussed immediately.”