Legazpi City Health Chief Dr.Fulbert Gillego (PNA file photo)
LEGAZPI CITY – The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has named Legazpi City health chief, Dr. Fulbert Gillego, as the regional winner of the CSC Search for 2022 outstanding government workers in the individual category.
Gillego, in an interview on Friday, said the CSC award was based on the health services rendered to residents here, particularly the indigent patients who need medical treatment but do not have sufficient money to pay hospital expenses.
When he started serving in 2006, he said he fought for the Magna Carta of the city health personnel that gave them additional incentives.
He also hired additional doctors including midwives, nurses, and other medical personnel to properly implement the health care services to the people in the community, particularly to patients residing in the far-flung barangays.
“We have also four lying-in clinics, one is located in the northern portion of Legazpi in Barangay Buyoan, the other two are in Barangay Bangquerohan in the southern part of the city, and the other one is in the main building of the City Health Office (CHO),” Gillego said.
The lying-in clinics are the venue for the check ups of pregnant women in the barangays and other health services such as newborn screening and provision of free vitamins and medicines as part of the “Sagip Kalusugan” program to make sure the mothers and babies are always healthy.
Gillego said the city government has allocated an additional PHP1 million yearly to the CHO for the free distribution of medicines and vitamins including x-ray, skin tests, and other services as part of the health care program to the babies, children, and pregnant women.
“In 2007, the CHO had established a functional blood council that spearheaded the blood-letting activities wherein the CHO has collected sufficient blood from the barangays and other stakeholders that distributed to some patients needing blood for their medical treatment,” he added.
He said his office also has a rehabilitation program for illegal drug users, under the mild and lowest category, that has helped the City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (CADAC) in solving the illegal drug menace in the community.
For the past years, Gillego said the CHO has established 27 Botika sa Barangay (community drugstore) as part of the priority program of Mayor Geraldine Rosal during her first term as city chief executive in 2010.
“Now we established our own 'Botika ng Bayan' at the main building of the CHO that would serve as distributor of free medicines to all the needy patients,” he said.
The Botika ng Bayan was created through the partnership of the city government and the Department of Health (DOH) in Bicol.
The CHO also conducted a series of medical missions at the daycare centers as part of the city’s community extension program to monitor regularly the health of children.
On the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases, the has established a pandemic health response program that include the establishment of seven isolation facilities which were used as quarantine areas for Covid infected persons as part of controlling the spread of the virus in the community.
Gillego said they also established a triage area for Covid response wherein all passengers coming from other countries as well as Manila and other places outside Legazpi City have undergone Covid testing before they can go to the place of their destinations.
He added that Legazpi City has recorded 128 percent in Covid vaccination as a result of the successful implementation of the city’s vaccination program which was intensified thru house-to-house campaign in partnership with different government and private hospitals including schools and national government agencies (NGAs).
“We exceeded the 70 percent target herd immunity because we entertained walk-in persons even though they are not residents of Legazpi,” Gillego said. (PNA)
