REHAB CENTER. The PHP350-million Soccsksargen Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center in Barangay Kawas, Alabel town, Sarangani province. The Department of Health is pushing for the full operation of the facility this year. (File photo courtesy of the Sarangani Information Office)
GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- The Department of Health (DOH) is pushing for the full operation this year of the regional drug treatment and rehabilitation center in Sarangani province.
Jenny Panizales, DOH-Region 12 spokesperson, said Monday they have fast-tracked the hiring of necessary personnel for the Soccsksargen Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center, which is situated on a three-hectare site in Barangay Kawas, Alabel town in Sarangani.
She said the “in-patient” operations remain pending over a year after its completion due to the lack of necessary manpower.
The facility presently caters to at least 20 out-patients in coordination with the provincial government of Sarangani.
“We’re hoping to complete the hiring process in the coming months so we can expand its operations,” Panizales told reporters.
She said the facility already has some 20 personnel but it needs 98 more, especially doctors, to fully operate.
Panizales said the hiring is being handled by the DOH central office and it is mainly looking for permanent employees.
DOH had targeted to operate by late last year the center’s “in-patient” operations but did not push through due to manpower problems.
Panizales said the agency has already adopted some mechanisms and expanded its recruitment activities to hasten the hiring process.
The center, which was completed in December 2018, was constructed through a PHP350-million grant from the Chinese government. It was implemented by China Aid through the state-owned China State Construction Engineering Corp. Ltd.
With a floor area of 6,707 square meters and a total capacity of 150 beds, it is equipped with complete amenities and had been designed as a courtyard.
Its facilities include the treatment and recovery units, admission/administration building and clinic, sports area, training center, visitor's pavilion, transition villas, male and female dormitory, staff house, motor pool, and multi-purpose covered court. (PNA)
