BAUKO, Mountain Province – The administration of the Luis Hora Regional Memorial Hospital (LHRMH) said the regional drug rehabilitation center that is undergoing construction in the compound of the hospital will be able to cater to the rehabilitation requirements of non-residential clients by January next year.
LHRMH medical center chief Dr. Eduardo Calpito said by September this year, majority of the drug rehabilitation center’s facilities will be completed to make it ready for operation right at the start of next year.
Earlier, the health department earmarked some P65 million for the construction of the regional drug rehabilitation center to cater to the rehabilitation needs of the growing number of drug surrenderers from the different parts of the Cordillera as there is no such facility in the region.
Calpito disclosed among the completed structures with the use of the funds from the health department include the administration building, the staff house, dormitory and part of the road network leading to the regional drug rehabilitation center.
“”We are lucky because we continue to get funding support from concerned government agencies to ensure the completion of these facilities for us to be able to cater to the rehabilitation needs of our increasing drug surrenderers,” Dr. Calpito stressed.
Aside from the P65 million that was sourced from the health department, the LHRMH official disclosed that the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) reportedly committed some P25 million which is being processed for release to complete the other required facilities of the drug rehabilitation center in preparation for its initial opening by the start of next year.
Calpito added some P172 million was also proposed by the DDB for inclusion in the health department’s health facilities enhancement program (HFEP) next year which will be used to complete the required facilities of the drug rehabilitation center in preparation for its expected full operation in the coming years as the facility will only be able to cater to non-resident drug surrenderers wanting to undergo the rigid rehabilitation process.
According to him, some 100 non-resident drug surrenders will be initially accommodated in the regional drug rehabilitation center by January next year as the facility cannot still yet accept drug surrenderers who need to be confined in the facility to undergo the desired rehabilitation.
The medical officer stated that the procedures in accepting non-resident drug patients will still be crafted by the agency in coordination with the DDB and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to ensure that those who qualify for the non-resident status will be the ones that will avail of the rehabilitation center’s services while the put up of more facilities to cater to residential drug patients will be underway.
Recently, the LHRMH was upgraded from a 100-bed to a 200-bed capacity regional hospital through the initiative of the government to help bring basic health care services closer to the people in the remote communities nationwide.
By HENT