Surigao Sur hospital opens hemodialysis center
By Nida
Grace Barcena
TANDAG CITY, Surigao del Sur (PIA) – The Adela Serra Ty Memorial Medical Center (ASTMMC) in Tandag City has recently inaugurated its hemodialysis center which is part of the institution’s upgrading and modernization initiatives.
ASTMMC is a Level 2 government hospital with a rated bed capacity of 500.
Dr. Vina Alvizo, ASTMMC medical officer, disclosed that the facility is equipped with personnel and resources to provide for and attend to 24 patients daily.
“The ASTMMC Hemodialysis Center has embarked on its mission to serve both
in-patients and out-patients, offering crucial dialysis treatments from Monday
to Saturday across two shifts with a total of 12 beds. One bed is further
dedicated to Hepatitis B positive patients,” she shared.
The significance of this center is further amplified by the PhilHealth’s
decision to institutionalize the expansion of the hemodialysis benefit package
to 156 sessions per year, as rooted in the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act that
underscored a commitment to enhancing healthcare accessibility and
affordability for all Filipinos, particularly those battling against chronic
kidney disease (CKD).
For individuals like Dindo Calising from Marihatag town, the opening of the ASTMMC Hemodialysis Center represented a significant turning point in the lives of the patients and their families.
He narrated that before he would go to San Francisco, Agusan del Sur, as having the nearest facility from his place and with travel time of three to four hours to undergo hemodialysis treatment.
“This new development meant less time on the road, less fatigue, and more time with his loved ones,” Calising gladly said.
Hemodialysis, more than a medical treatment, is a procedure that stimulates the
kidney's vital functions that serves as a lifeline ordeal for those with
advanced kidney failure.
With the ASTMMC Hemodialysis Center now available in the province of Surigao del Sur, this procedure that once demanded exhausting hours of travel, can now be accessed within a stone's throw from the patients’ homes. This logistical transformation means more than just convenience, it's a profound relief, a reduction in physical and emotional strain, and an opportunity to reclaim precious time with loved ones. (NGPB/PIA-Surigao del Sur)
