BACOLOD City – The local government unit here put up a “One Hospital Command Center” (OHCC) for better management and use of information from hospitals in relation to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases.
According to Mayor Evelio Leonardia, the OHCC – one of the practices of Cebu City when it was trying to curb the spread of COVID-19 – has now been adopted by the city government.
The OHCC includes a call center manned by agents for tele-consultation and education. Teams under this center are also deployed to coordinate hospital admissions and out-of-town hospital transfers as well as manage medical transport and data analytics.
The operation of the OHCC was among the major subjects discussed during the meeting of Leonardia and City Administrator Em Ang along with medical directors of various hospitals in this city on Sept. 16.
Major General Mel Feliciano, national Inter-Agency Task Force (NIATF)-Visayas chief implementer, was also present during the meeting.
He briefed medical directors of the features of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) where the hospitals’ cooperation is needed.
Feliciano also expressed satisfaction over the performance and progress of the EOC.
He expects a “healthy curve” in the COVID-19 pattern in the city and that means the numbers could still rise before it goes down.
Leonardia, for his part, said he already requested the Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. to send additional nurses as augmentation personnel to the city.
The mayor tasked Ang, who is also the EOC executive director, to formalize the request through a letter so that it can be sent and acted upon the soonest time possible.
According to Ang, the chances are high that Leonardia’s request for additional nurses will be granted, given that Feliciano also promised to endorse this request.
“Let’s shoot for the stars but let’s also be realistic. It may not probably be 100 percent. But what’s important is we have already established how many nurses we need,” Leonardia said after the hospital directors submitted their requests.
Ang said the OHCC posted contact numbers on their Facebook page. Individuals who need medical attention may contact these hotline numbers so they could be accommodated by the hospital or they could easily get a medical advice.
The hotline numbers are also posted on the Public Information Office’s Facebook account./PN
