CCMC opens pediatrics department

CEBU, Philippines - Mothers with newborn babies will no longer be experiencing inconvenience staying in tents at the back of the Bureau of Fire Protection building as Cebu City Medical Center finally opens its pediatrics services yesterday.

A soft opening of the CCMC Pedia Department at the former Cebu City Traffic Operations Management building along Natalio Bacalso Avenue commenced with a Eucharistic Mass and ribbon cutting ceremony yesterday.

The building, which now serves as the main facility of the CCMC annex at the BFP compound, is seen to accommodate 100 more beds from its current 108-bed capacity, servicing internal medicine and surgery departments.

With the expansion, CCMC officials have applied for reaccreditation and submitted their request for a permit to construct to the Department of Health central office last week in an attempt to upgrade and recoup its level 2 accreditation status.

The city hospital’s capacity dropped to 108 beds from 300 since it moved to the BFP compound. The old CCMC building, which was demolished February last year, occupied a 1.2-hectare lot while the BFP compound only covers an area of 7,000 square meters.

The new facility, CCMC Director for Administration Lawyer Rey Cris Panugaling said, is only “permanent-temporary” with the pending construction of a new P1.5 billion medical facility.

“We will give them enough comfort with the new facility with fully air-conditioned rooms compared sa tent didto sa BFP na init kaayo. Someday, we will make this bigger because we are aiming to have a better hospital,” he said.

Also, CCMC is set to open tomorrow the obstetrics and gynecology department at the newly-opened hospital to “decongest” the annex building, just a stone throw away from where the old CCMC building was located.

APPEAL

Rev. Fr. Celso Magbanua Jr., who celebrated the Mass, asked the city government to hasten the construction of the city hospital. He said it should be done this year as the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) declared 2015 as the “Year of the Poor.”

“We have to take good care of our poor people. We should cherish their presence. It’s our prayer and wish to start construction in time for the year of the poor. We should not delay this project,” he said during his homily.

Mayor Michael Rama assured that the construction will start soon once the paper works and rebidding processes are settled.  (FREEMAN)