Governor Celestino Gallares Memorial Medical Center (GCGMMC) in Tagbilaran launched on Valentine’s Day its new Heart Station. On the same day, the the Ambulatory Surgery Services of the said hospital was also inaugurated.
Medical center chief Dr. Mutya Kismet Macuno said that the expansion of services at the hospital is a product of love and great effort to enhance its services for the public.
The opening of the new sections of GCGMMC is highlighted by the strong partnership between Cong. Edgar Chatto and the hospital’s management.
Chatto has been pushing for the modernization of health care service delivery in the province.
“Chatto’s vision to transform health care provision in Bohol is way ahead of the election of President Bongbong Marcos and the president’s pronouncement to prioritize the multi-specialization of hospitals across the country in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA),” Macuno stated,
She cited also the landmark Republic Act 11883 converting the hospital into the Governor Celestino Gallares Multi-Specialty Medical Complex as an example.
The law had paved the way for the implementation of medical facilities such as the establishment of the Heart Station and Ambulatory Surgery. It also paves the way for other developments soon such as as renal transplant center and the tropical medicine and infectious diseases specialization department.
The newly launched Heart Station, is among the most modern facilities in the region, and will provide cardiovascular services such as 2D echo, electrocardiogram, stress tests, among others.
Moreover, the ambulatory services will allow surgeries that do not require overnight hospital stay.
Patients with rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease can now get treatment through Philhealth’s Z Benefits Package. The Z Benefit Package is a financial risk protection program of the state health insurer, which was also launched during the same event.
Meanwhile, Macuno also announced that she had received the Administrative Order signed by Department of Health (DOH) OIC Secretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire designating her as the concurrent medical chief of GCGMMC in Cortes town.
According to Macuno, the official designation as the administrator of GCGMMC Cortes will allow her to set the directions for the facility in north of Tagbilaran City.
The GCGMMC in Cortes is envisioned to become a Level 3 hospital with a capacity of 2,200 beds. The facility is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2024.
Chatto, for his part, congratulated GCGMMC and recognized the leadership of Macuno in implementing various health service upgrades.
“These developments are a product of planning which we were able to only implement with strong partners such as Gallares and with DOH putting in the largest investment,” Chatto said whose governance consistently put a premium on health care.
The launching of the new services at the hospital was also graced by City Mayor Jane Yap, Dr. Tomas Cesar Lopez of the Provincial Health Office (PHO), representatives of the district hospitals and Rural Health Units across the province.
Since 2018, GCGMMC has rendered services to over 4000 patients with heart diseases and related illnesses.
The new services at the hospital seek to improve health care services and to provide a better quality of life for patients with heart diseases.