An indigent patient admitted to the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center in Batac City receive cash aid from the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Ilocos region. Health workers in the hospital also received cash aid from the DSWD. PHOTO FROM DSWD
LAOAG CITY—At least 244 frontline health workers in the state-run Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (MMMH&MC) in Batac City have received cash aid from the government amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in Ilocos Norte province, officials said on Monday (July 26).
Under its “Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation” program, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Ilocos region said the aid, amounting to P3,000, was handed to health workers with salary grade 12 and below.
MMMH&MC, which is the primary COVID-19 treatment center in Ilocos Norte, has over 1,200 health workers.
The hospital sought a “timeout” last week as “exhausted health workers [are] now getting sick and unable to help.”
Aside from health workers, 87 indigent patients currently admitted in the hospital also received P3,000 each, the DSWD said.
TSB