Baguio City to reopen Sto. Niño Hospital for COVID-19 cases

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — The Baguio City government announced it has obtained the consent of the owners of Sto. Niño Hospital, a 36-bed medical facility that ceased operations in 2009, to reopen it as a COVID-19 treatment facility.

Mayor Benjie Magalong, Dr. Willy Occidental and City Administrator Bonifacio Dela Peña have met with the hospital owners who have agreed to let the city use it for free.

It will be an exclusive critical care unit for COVID-19 patients to segregate them from non-COVID patients and protect the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center and other hospitals from contamination risks.

Dela Peña had said barangay officials led by barangay chairman Bonifacio Bustos are supporting the plan and agreed to help the city gain the consent of the community.

Doctors and experts on infectious diseases said the facility will be closed off to avoid posing a danger to the community.

Preparations for the operationalization of the facility had started with the St. Louis University Hospital of the Sacred Heart headed by Dr. Paul Adlai Quitiquit leading the group.

They will conduct a site visit to assess its capacity for intensive care unit, operating room, dialysis and deliveries and other needs in terms of equipment, manpower and supplies.

Equipment and manpower will be pooled from the various hospitals, the health department and the city government.

A massive clean-up of the building had already been done by the city government with the Baguio City Police Office trainees and personnel from the City Building and Architecture Office, City Environment and Parks Management Office, City Tourism Operations Office and the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office.