Cordillera’s biggest gov’t hospital to raise bed capacity

June 25, 2017 Headlines

BAGUIO CITY – Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC) is hoping to accommodate more patients with a corresponding budget for them, as soon as the bill filed by Baguio Representative Mark Go is approved in Congress.
Dr. Ricardo Ruñez Jr., medical director of BGHMC, lauded the congressman’s move considering the need due to the increasing clientele of the hospital.
BGHMC is a tertiary government hospital serving residents from this city, Benguet and other parts of the Cordillera including patients from as far as Cagayan Valley, Ilocos provinces, Pangasinan and Region 3.
He said that aside from the 500 authorized bed capacity, BGHMC gets an average of 139 percent occupancy rate.
In 2016, there were 300,000 outpatients attended to by the hospital. On the first quarter of this year, the hospital already recorded 40,000 in-patients.
Rep. Go’s proposal in Congress is to increase the bed capacity to 800.
At present, BGHMC operates on a P1-billion annual budget. “We have submitted a proposed budget of P2 billion for 2018, which will cover the expenses” needed once the bill is approved by Congress.
Ruñez explained that the increase in budget will prevent draining the resources of the hospital that handles all major and minor illnesses. It is equipped with high-end facilities not to mention doctors who are among the best in the country. LIZA T. AGOOT/PNA / ABN