ISOLATION FACILITY PERSONNEL. Forty-two newly hired health workers and maintenance crew sign their employment contract before their oath-taking ceremony at the Ministry of Health - Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Training Center on Friday (June 19, 2020). BARMM Health Minister, Dr. Saffrullah Dipatuan (inset), said the workforce would man the Covid-19 isolation facility of the Cotabato Sanitarium Hospital in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao. (Photo courtesy of MOH-BARMM)
COTABATO CITY – The Ministry of Health in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MOH-BARMM) has hired 42 health workers and maintenance personnel to man the coronavirus disease 2109 (Covid-19) isolation facility at the Cotabato Sanitarium Hospital (CSH) in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao.
BARMM Health Minister Dr. Saffrullah Dipatuan led the contract-signing and oath-taking ceremony of 27 nurses, three respiratory therapists, four maintenance personnel, and eight security personnel at the MOH’s Training Hall in Cotabato City on Friday.
“This move is in line with BARMM’s immediate response to (the) Covid-19 health emergency,” Dipatuan said in an interview with reporters.
The salaries of the newly hired workforce will come from the central office of the Department of Health (DOH) and will be sub-allotted to MOH-BARMM.
“We asked assistance from the DOH to recruit new human resources for health because we do not have a sufficient number of staff members to man our isolation facility,” Dipatuan said.
On May 28, the MOH-BARMM and Ministry of Public Works inaugurated the PHP21-million isolation center in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao following its completion in 40 days.
BARMM Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Asnin Pendatun said the regional government would continue supporting the operations of the isolation facility through the region’s Office Of The Chief Minister.
“BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Ebrahim has also given his approval to provide the food supply for Covid-19-positive patients that would be admitted to the isolation facility,” Pendatun said.
CSH chief Dr. Ibrahim Pangato Jr. noted that the new set of health personnel has undergone basic training on infectious control before their assignment. (PNA)
