Mejia lauds P-Noy, Manay Gina for upgrading R1MC

Rep. Gina de Venecia

By Mortz C. Ortigoza DAGUPAN CITY - The regional director of the Region-1 Medical Center (R1MC) praised President Benigno S. Aquino III for his support to upgrade and rehabilitate the tertiary hospital that is based here. Dr. Roland Mejia said that the upgrading of R1MC to 600- bed capacity was contained in a bill passed by Rep. Gina De Venecia (4th District Pangasinan) which is being readied in the bicameral committee of the two chambers of Congress. “ The upgrading of the hospital will coincide with the implementation of the five-year expansion of the tertiary hospital from 300 beds to 600 beds as contained in the bill of Rep. de Venecia.
R1MC allocates 60 beds per year until the 300 beds are reached in five years,” Mejia said. Mejia said the regional hospital here is lucky since it is the third in the list of the 22 DOH- run hospitals in the country slated for upgrading. Health Secretary Enrique Ona has set P20 billion early this year for the enhancing of hospitals in the country. He said the president has given his all out support through Secretary Ona for the rehabilitation of the hospital after its assets have been ruined by the deluge brought by Typhoon Pepeng in 2010. Mejia lauded Rep.de Venecia who initiated for the upgrading and rehabilitation of R1MC possible. “R1MC is the only Level-4 hospital in the province of Pangasinan and we are catering not only the province but also the provinces of Zambales, (northern parts of )Tarlac, (southern parts of )La Union, and the western parts of Northern Luzon, and the CAR (Cordillera Autonomous Region),” he said. Mejia further said that R1MC as a level-4 government tertiary hospital is at par with Baguio General Hospital, Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center, Philippine Heart Center (PHC), and the Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP). “But the difference is they (PHC and LCP) are specialized hospitals. We are a general hospital.” Mejia said. R1MC spends P7 million to P8 million monthly to subsidize indigent patients.