LINGAYEN, PANGASINAN— Governor Ramon V. Guico III will enter into and sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Region 1 Medical Center (R1MC) for the latter to be an apex or end-referral hospital of the province.
In a resolution authored by Sangguniang Panlalawigan Member Shiela Marie F. Baniqued which was approved in the regular session of the provincial board on January 8, it was disclosed that “Section V of Administrative Order 202-0019 (Guidelines on the Service Delivery Design of Health Care Provider Networks) mandates all health care provider networks (HCPNs) to have primary to tertiary care providers with linkages to an apex hospital and other facilities providing specialized services needed by its catchment population.”
To ensure that program objectives for health are realized, the provincial government intends to form a collaborative partnership with the R1MC. Said collaboration will ensure continuous health care from primary to tertiary, which will be delivered in a safe, efficient, and coordinated mechanism in line with the Philippine Health Facility Development Plan.
“Republic Act No. 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991, states that the functional responsibilities for the delivery of basic health services and other related facilities have been transferred from the Department of Health (DOH) to the local government units,” the resolution stated.
The DOH has designated the R1MC as an apex or end-referral hospital to deliver specialized services that are not expected to be provided in HCPNs.
R1MC is a health facility licensed to operate as a Level III hospital. Level III hospitals are considered tertiary health facilities that can provide all kinds of services. (Ruby R. Bernardino/Pangasinan Information and Media Relations Office)
