Pasay opens hospital to NAIA flu cases

MANILA, Philippines – Pasay City Mayor Wenceslao Trinidad said they will welcome patients who are possible carriers of the Influenza A(H1N1) virus at the Pasay City General Hospital (PCGH).

He wrote Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager Alfonso Cusi that a 10-bed isolation room at the PCGH’s emergency room (ER) has been prepared for suspected A(H1N1) patients who just arrived from other countries.

“We have the nearest hospital from the airport. In case there is a need for airline passengers with suspected A (H1N1) virus to be confined, we are ready to assist the MIAA,” Trinidad said.

The ER isolation room and the isolation ward on the hospital’s fifth floor will be manned by two nurses and two nursing aides.

Trinidad said he also instructed the Pasay City Health Office to closely monitor all public schools in the city for A (H1N1) cases.

He added the city has an active surveillance unit with all 14 health centers and four hospitals – the PCGH, San Juan de Dios Hospital, Manila Adventist Medical Center and the Air Force General Hospital – providing regular reports on A (H1N1).

City health officer Dr. Cesar Encinares said they have an intensified information campaign on A (H1N1) and oriented barangay officials on the disease. The City Health Office procured personal protective equipment such as caps, gowns, surgical masks and N95 masks for the protection of the health workers.

“We give emphasis on how to boost the immunity level like eating nutritious food, taking at least eight hours of sleep,” Encinares said. – Rhodina Villanueva