11 October 2005
JDV, Duque inaugurate new dialysis center here
HOUSE Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr. and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III led officials in the inauguration of the dialysis center named De Venecia-Tulagan Dialysis Center at the Region 1 Medical Center in Dagupan City Sunday, opening a new public health service dimension in the Ilocos.
The building was funded from P2.5 million shared by both de Venecia and Rep. Generoso Tulagan of the third district of Pangasinan, while the brand new dialysis machine costing P20 million was donated by a group of benefactors who preferred to remain anonymous.
Also at the center’s opening were Rep. Amado Espino, Jr. of the second district of Pangasinan who has a hospital ward named in his honor, specifically for patients from his district; Pangasinan Gov. Victor Agbayani and Dagupan City Mayor Benjamin S. Lim.
Dr. Jesus Canto, chief of R1MC, said the new dialysis center if the first of its kind among government hospitals in Region 1, designed for poor patients who cannot afford to pay the staggering cost of dialysis being charged in private hospitals.
The R1MC, at more than 300-bed capacity, had already been classified by the Department of Health DOH as a tertiary hospital.
He said that patients availing of the service of the center will only spend P2,500 per session for the dialyzing solution compared to P12,000 per session in private hospitals. The amount already included the dialysis solution and professional fee.
Dialysis is not a treatment but it can prolong life of a patient who has acute and chronic renal failure, Canto clarified, adding that a more permanent solution is kidney transplant when there is a donor, but which he added will not last long too.
He said persons with kidney malfunctioning, or those who suffered chemical poisoning as well as congestive heart problem are also advised to have dialysis.
“We are not trying to compete with private hospitals because we are catering only to the masses in response to the 10-pint agenda up to 2010 of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,” Canto stressed.
The building was funded from P2.5 million shared by both de Venecia and Rep. Generoso Tulagan of the third district of Pangasinan, while the brand new dialysis machine costing P20 million was donated by a group of benefactors who preferred to remain anonymous.
Also at the center’s opening were Rep. Amado Espino, Jr. of the second district of Pangasinan who has a hospital ward named in his honor, specifically for patients from his district; Pangasinan Gov. Victor Agbayani and Dagupan City Mayor Benjamin S. Lim.
Dr. Jesus Canto, chief of R1MC, said the new dialysis center if the first of its kind among government hospitals in Region 1, designed for poor patients who cannot afford to pay the staggering cost of dialysis being charged in private hospitals.
The R1MC, at more than 300-bed capacity, had already been classified by the Department of Health DOH as a tertiary hospital.
He said that patients availing of the service of the center will only spend P2,500 per session for the dialyzing solution compared to P12,000 per session in private hospitals. The amount already included the dialysis solution and professional fee.
Dialysis is not a treatment but it can prolong life of a patient who has acute and chronic renal failure, Canto clarified, adding that a more permanent solution is kidney transplant when there is a donor, but which he added will not last long too.
He said persons with kidney malfunctioning, or those who suffered chemical poisoning as well as congestive heart problem are also advised to have dialysis.
“We are not trying to compete with private hospitals because we are catering only to the masses in response to the 10-pint agenda up to 2010 of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,” Canto stressed.
