NOPH ISOLATION FACILITY. Work starts for the PHP46-million Isolation Facility of the Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital. The 34-bed facility is expected to be completed in 60 days and designed to accommodate Covid-19 patients. (Photo courtesy of Capitol PIO)
DUMAGUETE CITY – The Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital (NOPH) Isolation Facility here is well underway following the approval of its multi-million peso budget by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP).
Governor Roel Degamo, together with members of the provincial Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), visited and inspected the 34-bed capacity of the NOPH Isolation Facility on Friday.
It is located near the main buildings of the NOPH and was started sometime last week.
The SP (provincial board) recently approved the governor’s request, which he sent about two months ago, for a PHP46-million budget for this project, in response to efforts to stem the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Adrian Sedillo, provincial IATF executive director, said in an interview that the PHP46 million is part of the PHP98-million Bayanihan Grant for Negros Oriental, which the SP approved last week.
The amount represents a half-month Internal Revenue Allotment share of the province, he said.
The remaining amount will be used for other programs, projects, and activities in line with the Covid-19 response and mitigation.
A media release from the Capitol quoted Dr. Liland Estacion, provincial IATF-EID action officer and assistant provincial health officer, as saying that the isolation facility will have 34 negative pressure rooms, donning and doffing rooms, built-in piping for oxygen, a laboratory, a morgue, and a generator set in case of power interruptions.
Dr. Socrates Villamor, chief of the Department of Health in the province, said once DOH approves and certifies the facility, it will automatically be accredited with PhilHealth and eligible for reimbursement.
The contractor of the isolation facility project has set a 60-day timeline for its completion, Sedillo said. (PNA)
