ILOILO City – The Department of Health (DOH) in Western Visayas is expanding government healthcare services beyond hospital grounds with plans to establish its first off-site Bagong Urgent Care and Ambulatory Services (BUCAS) Center in Batad, Iloilo, a move aimed at bringing faster and more accessible medical care to underserved communities in northern Iloilo.
Construction of the pioneering facility is already underway and is expected to be completed within the next two to three years.
Once operational, the center will be managed by the Don Jose Monfort Medical Center and will provide urgent care and ambulatory services for patients with non-life-threatening conditions, reducing congestion in hospital emergency rooms.
The Batad facility will become the first stand-alone BUCAS center outside a DOH-retained hospital in Western Visayas, marking a major milestone in the agency’s efforts to expand healthcare access in geographically isolated and underserved areas.
“These BUCAS Centers serve as a crucial bridge between primary care and hospital services, making healthcare more responsive, efficient, and patient-centered,” said DOH Region 6 director Helen Tobias.
“With the establishment of these centers, we can ensure that patients receive immediate care without the need for hospitalization, addressing urgent medical needs in a timely manner,” she added.
DOH currently operates three BUCAS centers within its retained hospitals — the Western Visayas Medical Center in Iloilo City, Western Visayas Sanitarium and General Hospital in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo, and Don Jose Monfort Medical Center in Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo.
According to the agency, Batad was selected after assessments showed that the municipality faces geographical challenges and limited access to hospitals within an hour’s travel.
“Batad was chosen not only for its geographical position but also because it is an area that has not had adequate healthcare resources to serve its population effectively,” said Christine Mosqueda, Nurse IV of the DOH-6’s Health Facilities Development Unit.
The new facility also supports the DOH’s Health System Resilience Program, under which Iloilo serves as the pilot province for a five-year initiative to build climate-resilient health systems, strengthen emergency response capabilities, and accelerate the integration of digital health technologies.
The region’s existing BUCAS centers continue to see heavy demand. From January to early June this year, the Western Visayas Medical Center’s BUCAS facility treated 8,265 patients, while the Don Jose Monfort Medical Center served 1,922. The recently opened BUCAS center at the Western Visayas Sanitarium and General Hospital has the capacity to accommodate up to 50 patients daily.
Health officials expressed optimism that the Batad BUCAS Center will significantly improve access to quality healthcare for residents of northern Iloilo while easing the burden on existing hospitals and strengthening the region’s healthcare system./PN
