By IME SORNITO
ILOILO – Iloilo Provincial Hospital (IPH) is being positioned as a major healthcare hub for women and children in the province, with nearly P244 million in investments lined up for a new specialized facility and its expansion in Pototan town.
Construction of the P143.78-million, 90-bed Mother and Child Building is set to begin following its groundbreaking on Monday, Aug. 24, while 3rd District Cong. Lorenz Defensor committed another P100 million next year for a bridge connecting the facility to other hospital buildings and for additional facilities.
The two-story building at IPH in Barangay Rumbang will house a dedicated emergency room, obstetrics and gynecology and pediatrics departments, delivery suites, operating rooms, recovery and inpatient areas, and a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for premature and critically ill newborns.
The Department of Public Works and Highways will implement the project, which is targeted for completion within 365 days.
The facility is intended to expand IPH’s capacity to provide specialized maternal and pediatric care amid increasing patient demand and reduce referrals of patients to hospitals in Iloilo City.
Defensor said the project carries a deeply personal significance for him, recalling the death of his daughter from biliary atresia several years ago.
He said the experience remained with him when he became congressman and strengthened his determination to push for a hospital facility dedicated to mothers and children.
Defensor stressed that healthcare should be a priority of every province and local leader.
Once the facility is completed, he said he intends to channel his medical assistance program for indigent patients into the hospital so residents from municipalities across Iloilo can benefit from its services.
“We will make this hospital the standard of healthcare for women and children for years to come and this is only the start of our journey to better healthcare for all Ilonggos,” Defensor said.
IPH head Dr. Alberto Cordero described the groundbreaking as more than the start of another government construction project, saying it represents the realization of a broader vision for maternal and pediatric healthcare.
He said the provincial government envisions healthcare where mothers and children receive safer, more accessible and compassionate services and where patients feel safe, cared for and respected.
Vice Gov. Nathalie Ann Debuque, meanwhile, said the Mother and Child Building would provide a major boost to Iloilo’s healthcare system, noting that the provincial government cannot single-handedly meet the medical needs of all residents.
The groundbreaking was attended by Debuque, Provincial Administrator Raul Banias, Hospital Management Office head Atty. Yoko Marie Eguia, Cordero, former Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr., Pototan Mayor Rafael Enrique “Adi” Lazaro, Defensor and several local chief executives.
Upon completion, the new facility is expected to strengthen IPH’s capacity to provide comprehensive maternal, neonatal and pediatric services and give Iloilo families greater access to specialized care without having to travel to Iloilo City./PN
