Lapu-Lapu facility boasts of more capacity, staff

CEBU, Philippines —  The Lapu-Lapu City government has opened the upgraded 260-bed isolation facility in Barangay Mactan, which is manned by trained personal capable of attending moderate COVID-19 cases.

Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan led the opening the other day.

Dubbed as temporary treatment and monitoring facility (TTMF) 2, this isolation facility is an addition to the 206-bed isolation facility at the Lapu-Lapu City College.

“Duna ni kitchen ug staff nga moandam sa ilang pagkaon nga makasiguro ta nga presko ang ilang pagkaon pirmi, nga utan, sabaw, lain-lain pa ug mao ni ang nakalahi sa pikas nato nga isolation facility,” said the mayor.  (This is equipped with a kitchen and staff who will prepare the food for the patients so we can ensure that they are eating fresh, including vegetables, soup and others. This is what makes this facility different from the other isolation facility.)

TTMF 2 facility manager Andy Berame said they have two doctors, six nurses, three nurse aids, one medical technician, and 13 utility workers to maintain cleanliness, regular sanitation and the facility’s upkeep.

Aside from their two doctors stationed there, the facility also has an emergency doctor, Dr. Debrah Custodio, who is the chief of clinic at the city hospital and the consultant at the TTMF. He is on call for emergency cases.

Compared to their first isolation facility, the mayor said, TTMF 2 has an infirmary capable of attending moderate patients.

In the first isolation facility, moderate patients are immediately referred to hospitals.

In TTMF 2, Berame said, trained staff regularly monitors their patients’ condition as they take their vital signs twice a day.

On the other hand, Dr. Ronald Oporto, chief of hospital, said that moderate and symptomatic cases are treated in hospitals while mild and asymptomatic cases are assigned in isolation facilities to relieve hospitals from overcrowding. — JMD (FREEMAN)