GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 3 April) – An isolation facility for 2019 coronavirus disease (Covid-19) patients will open soon at the city government-run Dr. Jorge P. Royeca Hospital (DJPRH).
Dr. Ryan Aplicador, DJPRH chief, said Friday the preparations are ongoing for the opening of the “Covid Center,” which is situated at the second floor or the former pay ward of the hospital’s expansion building.
He said the facility has 13 single rooms that may accommodate patients under investigation (PUI) and three large rooms that were set up as intensive care units or for the handling of possible severe cases.
It will be equipped with the necessary equipment for the proper management of Covid-19 patients, including a portable dialysis machine, he said.
Aplicador said personnel from the Department of Health (DOH)-Region 12 conducted an initial evaluation last week as required for its accreditation and they will seek another round of inspection by next week.
“We’re more than halfway already in terms of preparation and hopefully we will get the approval and accreditation soon from the DOH,” he said in a radio interview.
The official said the local government decided to put up the “Covid Center” at the DJPRH instead of utilizing the regional evacuation center in Barangay Buayan as temporary facility since the former requires lesser preparation.
The city’s Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases had tapped the evacuation center to host the Covid Center as the hospital was considered not equipped to handle Covid-19 patients being a Level 1 facility.
But Aplicador said they already resolved the matter with the conversion of one of its facilities into a “Covid Center.”
He said the location of the center is considered safe for other patients since it is located at the rear portion of the hospital compound and has a separate gate for entry and exit.
Aplicador said they already made arrangements with some private hospitals for the referral of non-Covid-19 patients once the facility opens.
As of 5 p.m. Thursday, the city has not recorded any confirmed case of Covid-19 and is considered free from the deadly disease.
A report released on Friday morning by the City Health Office said at least eight of the identified PUIs in the area have already tested negative of the virus.
Two were not recommended for testing while the test results of seven others were still pending.
