Eastern Samar hospital operations a 'model' for Agusan del Norte

EASTERN SAMAR. The hospital operations at the Eastern Samar Provincial Hospital in Borongan City have been taken as model for benchmarking by the Provincial Government of Agusan del Norte. (Photo by Denis Hector Badajos)
EASTERN SAMAR. The hospital operations at the Eastern Samar Provincial Hospital in Borongan City have been taken as model for benchmarking by the Provincial Government of Agusan del Norte. (Photo by Denis Hector Badajos)

THE Provincial Government of Agusan del Norte will have the Eastern Samar Provincial Government as benchmarking site for its hospital operations.

Agusan del Norte Governor Maria Angelica Amante Matba said they have “seen [a] significant number of similarities in the challenges” the two provinces are facing.

“We also have seen your LGU’s (local government unit) tenacity in facing them as seen in the performance of your LGU and provincial hospital... specifically the pharmacy operations,” Matba said in a letter.

“We will greatly appreciate to talk with your people, to learn from them, gain insights from the encounter, and come back to our province enriched with the experience of having shared some learning time with you. We will forever grateful for accommodating our request,” added the governor.

The benchmarking activity will start on April 11 to 12.

According to Matba, they will be sending one board member, five heads of offices, and three officers from the Provincial Governor’s Office, Provincial Board, Provincial General Services Office, Provincial Budget Office, Provincial Accounting Office, Provincial Planning and Development Office, and Provincial Hospital.

The Agusan del Norte governor said they will visit the Eastern Samar Capitol and meet with the provincial accountant, general services head, hospital administrator and provincial health officer “to learn from your processes and mechanisms to meet these challenges and how were you able to make the most of the opportunities around you.”

The Eastern Samar Provincial Government reported that it had collected a total of P164,007,151.22 as of December 2018, exceeding its P100 million target in 2017.

Provincial Administrator George Erroba said the increase in their hospital collection “is the result of [Eastern Samar Governor Marcelo] Picardal’s ‘Proyekto 25.’”

“Picardal put up a mechanism to ensure efficient delivery of government services to our constituents. This includes the full implementation of ‘No Balance Billing’ policy and the establishment of Provincial Governor’s Office (PGO) in the hospitals to regain the trust of the public in terms of the services of the health care facilities in the province,” he said.

According to Erroba, the establishment of PGO in the hospitals “brings the Provincial Government closer to the people.”

“The office will immediately respond to the problems and monitor the needs of the patients. Also with the availability of the medicines and supplies, more people opted to go to government hospitals because of the availability of logistics,” said the administrator, adding that one of the goals of “Proyekto 25” is “to provide transparency and good governance.”

The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation also acknowledged the reforms happening at the hospitals in the province, said Erroba.

Eastern Samar, known to be one of poorest provinces in the Philippines, has now shifted its focus on health, tourism, agri-fishery, and good governance.

“The Proyekto 25 aims to lower the poverty incidence of 46.3 percent in Eastern Samar into 25 percent by focusing on these developments,” said Erroba.

Based on its November 2018 hospital record, around 18,230 in-patients (admissions) were accommodated in all of the hospitals in Eastern Samar. (SunStar Philippines)

Trending

No stories found.

Just in

No stories found.

Branded Content

No stories found.
SunStar Publishing Inc.
www.sunstar.com.ph