BAGUIO CITY – The Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC), the only accredited sub-national testing laboratory in Northern Luzon, resumed its operations and started accepting patients but on a scaled down basis after temporarily suspending its operations following the surge in the number of health workers infected with the dreaded Coronavirus Diseases (COVID-19) cases.
In a latest advisory, BGHMC stated that it already started accepting patients following the institution of the needed measures to address the growing concern for stringent measures that will prevent the spread of the virus in the hospital.
Among the initial strategies that was embraced by the hospital management to address the problem is to adjust the work schedules of its staff in their respective areas in the hospital and instituted stricter infection control measures.
Further, the hospital management scaled down operations in areas where there is a high risk of infection due to new positive COVID-19 cases coming up.
BGHMC announced that all other operations such as hemodialysis, out-patient department (OPD), and triage also resumed but with limitations on strict infection control.
The hospital management assured the public that it is exercising due diligence in making sure that its health workers are safe as well as the patients being served for wellness purposes among others.
Last Saturday, 4 health workers composed of two doctors, a nurse and a health clerk were found positive of the deadly virus while a female doctor and three nurses tested positive of the same last Sunday that prompted the management committee to hold an emergency meeting to discuss strategies on how to deal with the possible depletion of health workers attending to COVID-19 cases in the different hospitals in the city.
Earlier, the health department accredited BGHMC as the only independent sub-national testing center in Northern Luzon after it was able to pass the stringent processes and stages for its designation to cater to the confirmatory tests from the Cagayan, Cordillera and Ilocos regions.
By HENT