Health exec says SFHC to help decongest CCMC
CEBU CITY (June 25, 2024) – The Super Family Health Center (SFHC) in Barangay Apas will open its doors to the public on Friday, June 28.
The facility is the first of its kind in Cebu City and can help decongest the city’s public hospitals, the Cebu City Health Department (CCHD) said.
Dr. Grace Valdez, SFHC head, said the facility will be open 24 hours and can provide comprehensive medical services, consultations and even diagnostics to patients.
“The Super Health Center in Apas is the basic feature of the mother health center that will be more complete sa iyang services from medical consultations to laboratory services that will be catering to the 20 health centers within the North District area,” Valdez said during CCHD’s Patas sa Kahimsug teleradyo program over Sugboanon Channel on June 21.
The SFHC can also cater to patients living in the city’s mountain barangays, she added.
Valdez said the SFHC can offer minor surgeries and laboratory services such as complete blood count (CBCs), urinalysis, blood chemistry test, X-ray examinations, and ultrasound imaging.
The facility will also have its own pharmacy, she added.
But Dr. Jeffrey Ibones, CCHD assistant head, said that not all diagnostic services will be offered at the SFHC for now.
The SFHC can provide CBC, urinalysis and blood chemistry test once it opens on Friday, he added.
Ibones admitted that the City is still in the process of repairing the facility’s electrical connections so that an air-conditioning unit can be installed there.
The air-conditioning unit is needed in order to ensure the efficiency of the medical equipment, he added.
Ibones said the CCHD will deploy a brand new X-ray machine at the SFHC once its medical laboratory has an air-conditioning unit.
“Nana ang (X-ray) machine actually sa atoang CCHD, dili pana karun namo mabutang kay i-prepare pa nato (ang laboratory) kay ang machine sensitive kaayo sa init. Unya kung maguba, pirte rabang mahala sa machine,” he added.
Once the SFHC operates, Ibones hopes that it will help decongest the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC).
He said the SFHC can help decongest CCMC through the initial screening of patients just before they are referred to another facility.
“Ang mahitabo ani niya nga adto sa (ang patient) sa Super Health Center. Pero kung dili na gyud makaya (sa SFHC), adto na sa CCMC,” he added.
Ibones said the City also awaits the completion of two other SFHCs being constructed in Barangays Labangon and Basak Pardo.
He said CCHD has sought for additional appropriation in preparation for the eventual operation of the three SFHCs.
On June 11, Acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia ordered the CHD to fast track the opening of the SFHC after he inspected the facility.
Garcia lamented that SFHC has not opened even though two years has passed since the Department of Health (DOH) turned over the facility to the city.
The DOH spent around P14.9 million for the SFHC’s construction.
When Garcia inspected the facility, he found it to have no power supply and had no occupational permit.
To solve this problem, he instructed CHD head Dr. Daisy Villa to work on providing power to the facility. The acting mayor also ordered the Office of the Building Official to issue an occupational permit for SFHC. | RMN / CNU Communication Intern Erick Gandecila / with jkv
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