Nagpaabot ng pasasalamat ang Philippine General Hospital (PGH) at East Avenue Medical Center (EAMC) kay Senator Sonny Angara, na naging daan upang magkaroon ng state-of-the-art equipment at dagdag-pondo ang parehong pagamutan para mas maraming pasyente ang kanilang maserbisyuhan.
Bilang chairman ng Senate Committee on Finance, napaglalaanan ni Angara ng pondo ang healthcare sector, partikular ang mga pampublikong ospital sa bansa, mula sa national budget ng gobyerno, upang maalalayan sa pagpapagamot ang mahihirap na pasyente.
Sa isang special tribute para sa kaarawan ni Angara nitong Hulyo 15, idinetalye ni Dr. Gap Legaspi, director ng University of the Philippines – PGH (UP-PGH) ang mga naitulong ng senador upang mapabuti ang healthcare services ng kanilang pagamutan.
“He asked me how much was needed to make it possible for poor Filipinos to have excellent healthcare. When I gave him the amount, over the span of a few years, we were able to reach that. Currently, we have used all those funds to provide timely and high-level care at PGH,” ani Legaspi.
HANGGANG P1.2-M TREATMENT, NALILIBRE
Sinabi ni Legaspi na dahil sa taun-taong lumalaking budget na nailalaan sa PGH, nasa 350,000 pasyente kada taon ang naseserbisyuhan ng ospital.
“When I started as director in 2016, we were only spending P17,000 per patient. Now in the latest report from our accounting department, it’s gone to almost P50,000 per patient. But there are patients who had treatment that would cost P1.2 million and we were able to do that,” sabi ni Legaspi.
Ayon sa PGH Director, sa tulong ni Angara ay nakabili ang PGH ng high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), Da Vinci surgical system, intravenous immune globulin o O-arm, laser lithotripter, pneumatic tube conveyor system, C-arm neurological microscope, MRI fusion biopsy, spy portable handheld imager, at iba pa.
Dagdag pa ni Legaspi, libre na ngayong naibibigay sa mga pasyente ang intravenous immune globulin na nagkakahalaga ng P500,000, gayundin ang P800,000 aortic aneurysm treatment, maging ang robotic surgery.
“Naibibigay natin nang libre ‘yun. Dati mamamatay na lang ‘yung pasyente hindi pa maibigay ‘yun. Ngayon, we can give it the moment it’s requested,” ani Legaspi.
“We were able to give the high-intensity focused ultrasound—this it the only one in the country and only the second one in Southeast Asia which through the efforts of Senator Sonny Angara we were able to acquire in 2019 and installed in 2021. It’s the only machine in the country that gives remedy for Parkinsonism and Dystonia,” dagdag ni Legaspi.
CANCER CENTER SA EAST AVENUE
Samantala, aabot naman sa 900,000 pasyente kada taon ang naseserbisyuhan ng EAMC, dahil sa dagdag-pondong ipinupursige ni Angara para sa ospital.
“We were able to purchase state-of-the-art equipment, which enhanced efficiency and effectiveness for our patients and personnel,” sabi ni Dr. Alfonso Nunez III, EAMC Director.
Ibinunyag din ni Nunez na kinukumpleto ngayon ang konstruksiyon ng sariling cancer center ng EAMC.
“We are completing the construction of our cancer center… With the support of Sen. Angara, we were able to strategize building a four-story building that will house not only the linear accelerator radiation machine, but also the CT Scan, a nuclear facility, a chemotherapy area, and a training facility for those interested in pursuing cancer care,” ani Nunez.
Bukod sa cancer center, ipinatatayo rin ng EAMC ang tatlong palapag na Outpatient Department Extension Building “specially made to cater daycare surgery,” ayon kay Nunez.
DIALYSIS STATIONS, DINOBLE
Ibinahagi rin ng EAMC Director na sa tulong ni Angara, mas marami na ang naseserbisyuhan ng kanilang dialysis center.
“Before we were able to serve around 250 patients in a week, now with funding support given by Senator Angara, we have increased our dialysis stations from 15 to 25. We have even increased it to around 35 by putting up remote stations in different sites of the hospital… and because of that we were able to increase the capacity of our hospital to serve close to 600 patients a week,” dagdag ni Nunez.