Dagupan being eyed as Quarantine Center of the North
THE Region 1 Medical Center (R1MC) annex in Barangay Bonuan Binloc in Dagupan City is being considered to become the “Quarantine Center of the North” for COVID-19 patients and those suffering from other infectious diseases.
This was disclosed by Dr. Joseph Roland Mejia, R1MC chief, when he presided over the inauguration of the newly-built three-storey Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Diseases on Thursday, August 26. at the premises of the R1MC annex.
“That is the future plan for Region I Medical Center—to make the Bonuan Binloc annex the “Quarantine Center of the North” as well as cancer center, and mental health hospital for Region 1,” Mejia told newsmen after the inauguration of the facility.
The new three-storey edifice, which was initiated with the help of Fourth District Rep Christopher de Venecia, can accommodate critically-ill COVID-19 patients and will augment the 120 beds dedicated for COVID-19 patients at R1MC Bonuan Binloc annex, which are now fully occupied.
The edifice is equipped with modern facilities to treat critically-ill COVID-19 patients and is provided with fogging suction to ensure clean air and minimize the transmission of the virus from the patients to the personnel.
He said the new building being constructed near the premises is the isolation center for R1MC employees and can be used for other COVID-19 cases if necessary.
According to Mejia, RIMC will implement Surge Plan A starting Monday as the 120-beds it dedicated only for COVID-19 patients have all been occupied due to the soaring cases in Pangasinan, especially Dagupan City. The plan will close the Outpatients Department and other departments and deploy their personnel to attend to COVID-19 patients.
But he quickly added that this will last only for two weeks depending on the number of new cases that will come in but the outpatients with emergency cases can still be served by contacting the OPD online.
He said that if the situation worsens further, R1MC will implement Surge Plan B which will require the whole hospital to serve only COVID-19 patients. (Butch Uka)
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