Cam Sur opens state-of-the art COVID-19 Medical Center
PILI, CAMARINES SUR, April 23 (PIA) – The provincial government of Camarines Sur under the stewardship of Governor Miguel Luis “Migz” Villafuerte, confirmed the readiness of its newly-built and fully-equipped COVID-19 Medical Center at Brgy. Banasi, in Bula, here just in case the pandemic stretched beyond its expected demise.
Villafuerte, after securing the province’s food security on the onset of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in Luzon, said it’s high time that the provincial government turn its focus on addressing the health aspect of COVID-19 patients, particularly to Camarinenses who will be afflicted with the pandemic.
One way to ensure the center’s full capability is by beefing up the medical equipment and facilities that will be used to treat the patients. The Governor expressed his desire to make the Camarines Sur Medical Center the premier COVID-19 treatment center in the province and outside Metro Manila by equipping it with cutting-edge equipment being manned by health experts and personnel.
The center, which can accommodate more or less a hundred COVID-19 patients, is now ready to assist the Department of Health (DOH) in ensuring that the local government can address the medical needs of its constituents, particularly now that the country is facing an unseen enemy.
The ground floor, which has a 45-bed capacity, will be used for COVID-19 suspected and probable cases or those exhibiting mild symptoms, while the 2nd floor, which has a 36-bed capacity, will be used for confirmed patients who tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.
CamSur Medical Center is equipped with portable digital X-ray machines, an ABG machine, defibrillators and a computer-based ECG.
Villafuerte said that the provincially-managed COVID 19 treatment center located in Bula, is one of the pioneers in using the handheld ultrasound to check the lungs of COVID-induced pneumonia— a device popular amongst many doctors in countries like Italy, France, and Austria. It is said to be more sensitive than chest X-rays and can detect early signs of respiratory problems.
“As the said lightweight ultrasound device is used like a stethoscope, it also serves as a handy tool that can be brought to the rooms of isolated patients, instead of risking exposure by taking these people to the CT Scan or X-ray rooms. The latest portable digital X-ray found in the Bula hospital, meanwhile, is capable of sending images to specialists all over the world via the Internet,” the governor said.
The ABG machine checks on the oxygenation levels and the PH levels of the acidity of the blood of patients, the results of which guide doctors on the best ventilator settings for patients with infected lungs.
Gov. Villafuerte added that the said the computer-based ECG is capable of checking the heart rhythm and heart’s electrical signals of the patients as most COVID-19 patients have heart conditions that require constant monitoring.
The treatment center has suction machines to help get the nasal throat and lung secretions of patients so they can breathe better, as well as defibrillators to revive patients whose hearts manifest irregular heartbeats or heart electrical signals that can prove fatal if not detected soon enough. It is also equipped with about two dozens of ventilators for the use of patients with critical symptoms of this virus.
Villafuerte said the facility has a relatively big number of ventilators because the provincial government used local funds to purchase 15 such machines— the single biggest one-time acquisition of ventilators by a provincial local government unit (LGU) in the entire country. (LSMacatangay, with reports from Estel L.Estropia, PDRRMC-CamSur- PIAV/Camarines Sur)
source https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1039872