Ilocos Norte public hospital opens expanded COVID-19 ICU

Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center opened its expanded COVID-19 intensive care unit. (Photo courtesy of MMMH&MC)

LAOAG CITY—The Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (MMMH&MC) in Batac City, Ilocos Norte province opened on Thursday, Sept. 9, its expanded intensive care unit (ICU) as a treatment facility for severe and critical COVID-19 cases.

Dr. Maria Lourdes K. Otayza, MMMH&MC chief, said the facility is ready for occupancy this week and could accommodate 16 more COVID-19 patients who require intensive care management.

The expanded ICU also has two additional hemodialysis units, Otayza said.

“Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, the hospital has been receiving steadfast support from the provincial government and the community to handle this turbulence,” Otayza said in a statement.

MMMH&MC, a primary COVID-19 treatment center in Ilocos Norte and northern Luzon, was overwhelmed with patients when the province suffered from a surge in infections fueled by the Delta variant in the past three months.

From having 27 beds for COVID-19 patients, the hospital expanded to 181, including 101 for the wards, 33 for isolation rooms, and 47 for the ICU, the Department of Health tracker shows.

The hospital has at least two temporary facilities built in the past two months to serve as holding areas for COVID-19 probable and suspected cases amid the spike in infections.

The hospital has been treating 74 COVID-19 patients as of Thursday.

At least 24 of its health care workers have been isolated after testing positive for the virus, the latest hospital report said.

Ilocos Norte has logged 16,440 COVID-19 cases, including 2,209 active infections, 13,992 recoveries, and 239 deaths, data from the provincial government showed. INQ