4 gov’t hospitals in provinces can now perform open heart surgeries

AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Filipinos in the provinces who need to undergo heart surgery no longer need to go to Manila as more provincial hospitals have been modernized and are now capable of performing it.

According to the Department of Health, apart from specialty hospitals like the Philippine Heart Center, other DOH hospitals that conduct open heart surgeries and transplants are the Region 1 Medical Center in Dagupan City, Pangasinan; Bicol Regional Teaching and Training Hospital in Legazpi City, Albay; Northern Mindanao Medical Center in Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental; and Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City.

“A patient need not travel to Manila just to be operated on. We now have a number of DOH-retained hospitals which are capable of performing heart procedures with comparable expertise and precision, at much lower rates,” said Health Secretary Enrique Ona.

He added that the government has resolved to achieve Kalusugan Pangkalahatan (Health for All) through state-of-the-art technologies, health facility improvements and health promotion.

“This development will definitely decongest the Philippine Heart Center,” he said.

The DOH has reported that cardiovascular diseases remain as the top cause of mortality in the Philippines with 120,000 Filipinos dying yearly due to lifestyle-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, hypertension, kidney problems and diabetes.