ILOILO – This province will get more hospital beds following the conversion of the Western Visayas Sanitarium in the municipality of Santa Barbara into a general hospital with a specialty in infectious diseases and renaming it the Western Visayas Sanitarium and General Hospital (WVSGH).
On Wednesday afternoon, June 22, WVSGH located in Santa Barbara’s Barangay Inangayan was inaugurated. A blessing ceremony followed.
To recall, President Rodrigo Duterte signed on April 29, 2022 Republic Act (RA) 11723, or An act converting the Western Visayas Sanitarium in the Municipality of Santa Barbara, Province of Iloilo into a general hospital to be known as the Western Visayas Sanitarium and General Hospital, and appropriating funds therefor. It was authored by second district Cong. Michael Gorriceta.
Under RA 11723, the hospital will operate into 300 authorized beds from the previous 150 authorized beds.
According to Dr. Judy Ann T. Dumayas, medical center chief of WVSGH, the hospital will specialized in infectious diseases and toxicology which will cater diseases such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), dengue, leprosy, and other infectious diseases.
“We shall become a specialty hospital for infectious diseases and toxicology, that is in accordance with the Philippine Health Facility Development Plan and in our RA 11723 also but we will retain being a sanitarium as well,” Dumayas said.
She also revealed that before the signing of RA 11723, improvement of hospital facilities was ongoing, thus it has the capacity to expand into 300 beds.
One big adjustment, however, in upgrading the hospital into a general hospital is with the manpower. Dumayas said the hospital will be hiring additional manpower particularly doctors, nurses and support personnel.
“Provision of budget or additional budget for the operations of the 300 beds and additional persons of position will be provided under RA 11723,” she explained.
Among the facilities now at the Western Visayas Sanitarium and General Hospital are the following:
● 100-bed Non-Infectious Hospital Complex
● 50-bed Mother and Child Center
● 16-bed Heal as One Pediatrics Isolation Facility
● 16-bed Doña Presentacion Isolation Facility
● 14-bed Santa Rita Isolation Facility
● 5-bed WVSGH Staff Isolation Facility
● Center of Infectious Diseases, Ground Floor
● Hospital Triage
● Heal as One WVSGH Staff Dormitory
● Nursing Service Office
● New Hospital Chapel
● New Power Plant
● New Water System and Facilities
● New Waste Water Treatment Plant
Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega, for his part, is happy to see the big transformation of WVSGH.
“It will become a referral center for all the catchment areas in the city and not just go directly to Iloilo City which will actually become a problem in terms of servicing our patients. It is good to know that this transformation of sanitarium into a general hospital is very much for the improvement and accessibility of the patients in terms of what they need,” Vega said during the inauguration and blessing ceremony.
Gorriceta was also elated that the sanitarium was upgraded into a general hospital before Duterte’s term ends. He also thanked the DOH.
“Ini sia ang damgu nga came into reality. Halin pa ni sang tiempo ni former Cong. Arcadio Gorriceta. Amo gid ni ang iya handum para sa ikaayong lawas not only sa second district but sa entire province kag nearby towns that would benefit sa pag-expand sang hospital,” he said./PN
