The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) continues to help address the continuing threat of the COVID-19 pandemic with the timely construction of quarantine and temporary treatment and monitoring facilities to alleviate the pressure from health capacity system.
DPWH Secretary and Isolation Czar Mark A. Villar announced that more patients can avail the health services of Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital & Sanitarium with the completion of 22-rooms modular fabricated hospital.
The additional facility exclusively for COVID-19 patients in this hospital located at Tala, Caloocan City is much needed especially with the spike of new cases, said Secretary Villar.
In his report to Secretary Villar, Undersecretary and head of DPWH Task Force to Facilitate Augmentation of Local/National Health Facility Emil K. Sadain said that the room keys of completed modular hospital were officially handed over Tuesday, March 9, 2021 to Dr. Alfonso Victorino H. Famaran, Medical Center Chief of Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital & Sanitarium.
The DPWH has also turned over one (1) unit off-site dormitory with 16 rooms for medical personnel manning the health facility operations.
Dr. Famaran lauded Secretary Villar for the preparations done by his formed DPWH Task Force ahead of an anticipated surge of cases.
The newly built modular hospital can start admitting assessed patients classified as moderate to severe cases. The hospital caters to patients from Caloocan City, Quezon City and from other provinces such as Bulacan, Rizal, and Batangas
DPWH construction of quarantine facilities all over the country made up for the shortage of hospital beds because of COVID-19 outbreak.
Based on the latest monitoring report of the DPWH Task Force to Facilitate Augmentation of Local/National Health Facility, there are 720 COVID-19 facilities consists of quarantine/isolation facilities and off-site dormitories with a total capacity of 26,099 beds being built by DPWH nationwide.
Of the total, 604 facilities with 22,352 beds have been completed as of March 8, 2021 while others are expected to be finished soon.
Other than Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital & Sanitarium, there are completed or on-going constructions of modular hospital intended for moderate to severe patients and dormitories for medical personnel in the following hospitals: Quezon Institute with five (5) units of modular hospitals with 108 beds with two (2) operating rooms and two (2) units modular dormitories with 64 beds; Lung Center of the Philippines with one (1) unit modular hospital with 16 beds; and five (5) units of isolation facility and off-site dormitory for medical personnel in Pasay City with 80 bed capacity.
The added bed capacity for isolation and quarantine will be a big boost to the efforts in containing the COVID-19 pandemic.