Hospitals in Isabela, Baguio, La Union, and Bayombong up for expansion

FOUR GOVERNMENT-owned hospitals in the northern Luzon area have been lined up for expansion after President Rodrigo R. Duterte recently signed laws corresponding to the improvement programs.
The medical facilities are: Southern Isabela General Hospital in Santiago City, Isabela; La Union Medical Center (LUMC) in Agoo, La Union; Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC); and Veterans Regional Hospital in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya.
Malacañang released the certified copies of the newly signed laws to reporters on Wednesday, Oct. 3.
Mr. Duterte signed Republic Act (RA) 11082 to upgrade the Southern Isabela General Hospital into a tertiary general hospital, and it will be renamed Southern Isabela Medical Center (SIMC).
The authorized bed capacity of the SIMC will also be “increased from 50 to 350 beds.”
SIMC will be placed “under the direct technical and administrative supervision of the Department of Health (DoH),” and its funding will be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.
RA 11083 is intended to upgrade the services and facilities of LUMC “by increasing its bed capacity to 300 (from 100) and establishing a trauma center therein, and authorizing the increase of its personnel.”
RA 11084, meanwhile, will increase the bed capacity of BGHMC to 800 beds from 500.
Under RA 11081, the Veterans Regional Hospital will be renamed Region II Trauma and Medical Center, with its bed capacity to be increased to 500 from 200, and “upgrading its services and professional health care, authorizing the increase of its medical personnel.” — Arjay L. Balinbin