BAGUIO City is eyeing the possibility of converting the Sto. Niño Hospital into a city hospital, according to City Administrator Bonifacio Dela Peña.
According to Dela Peña, the owners of the hospital are “very willing” to have the facility rented out by the city once legal matters are threshed out.
The facility was most recently used as an isolation unit for the city’s COVID-19 patients during the height of the pandemic.
Dr. Maria Lourdes Pakoy, City Health Services Office (CHSO) deputy chief, said that though the city is not required to have a city hospital under the Universal Healthcare Law, it is still in line with the law’s mandate to ensure equitable access to healthcare.
Pakoy also added that although it is not required, the city needs a city hospital, setting forth the need to conduct a proper feasibility study for the hospital.
“Putting up a new public hospital will definitely take up more time for the preparation and will require a lot more funding. The group agreed that since the Sto. Nino Hospital is already existing and could possibly be utilized, it was considered as the primary option,” Pakoy said.
