Baguio pilot area for universal health care

 CITY HALL BEAT

By Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY – The summer capital has started preparations for the implementation of the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act, the city being chosen as one of the pilot areas to enforce the UHC for a better public health system. 

Outgoing Mayor Mauricio Domogan last week ordered the creation of the UHC-Advance Implementation Site (AIS) Management Team (MT) and Technical Unit (TU) which will manage the implementation of the UHC-AIS plans in the city.

The management team will be headed by the mayor and City Health Officer Dr. Rowena Galpo with the city council committee on health and sanitation, city accountant, city budget officer, city treasurer, city planning and development officer, the directors of the city Dept. of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Dept. of Health Center for Health Development Cordillera, Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center and the PHilHealth regional office as members along with the private partners Baguio-Benguet Medical Society president, private hospital chiefs, laboratories and diagnostic centers and private pharmacies representatives.

The team will direct, oversee the operations and performance of the UHC-AIS, formulate policies and plans, facilitation technical, managerial and financial actions as well as the monitoring and evaluation of results.

The technical unit will be led by Dr. Galpo with the following as members: Health Care Services Providers Network (HCSPN) Coordinator Dr. Celia Flore Brillantes, Planning Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator Dr. Maria Alice Torres, Health Management Information System and City Epidemiology and Surveillance Coordinator Dr. Donnabel Panes, Health Education Promotion and Advocacy Coordinator Marieta Hoven and Philhealth concerns coordinator Dr. Dandeo Galog.

The TU will organize and oversee the day-to-day operations of the HCSPN and provide update to the MT, prepare plans including the communication and advocacy plan, advocate for UHC among stakeholder, manage information integration, data management and analysis and provide assistance and information on Philhealth-related concerns.

The teams will be supported by the secretariat composed of Benny Abenoja, Josephine Bay-ed and Brigette Angway of the City Health Services Office.

The UHC Act or Republic Act No. 11223 entitled “An Act Instituting (UHC) for All Filipinos prescribing reforms in the Health Care System…”  aims to “address health system fragmentation and reorient the same towards primary health care, through network-based contracting of health care providers and reorganization of the public health system into a city-wide system.”

The mayor said that in line with the UHC, the city “must undergo necessary reforms in its health system with the direction and assistance of the DOH toward better health outcomes, responsive health system and financial risk protection.”

  “Our aim is to successfully implement the Universal Health Care Act in the city,” the mayor said.

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Dengue cases in this summer capital are going down.

The HSO under Dr. Rowena Galpo reported that a total of 99 cases were recorded in the city from January 1 to June 3 which is 18.18 percent decrease from last year’s figure of 121 cases.

“Age of cases range from 4 months to 82 years old (median+22 years).  Majority of the cases are males (55 percent).  There were no clustering and fatalities reported,” the report from City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (CESU) Head and Dengue Program Coordinator Dr. Donnabel Tubera noted.

Galpo urged the public to observe anti-dengue measures particularly those contained in city’s Ordinance No. 66 series of 2016 or the “Anti-Dengue Ordinance of the City of Baguio” and the Dept. of Health’s ”Mag 4S Kontra Dengue (4 S: Search and destroy breeding places; Self-protection measures; Seek early consultation; Support spraying to prevent impending diseases).”

“If you are experiencing fever for two days, please have yourself checked at the nearest health center because early detection is necessary to prevent worse symptoms or even death,” Galpo said.

The city’s anti-dengue ordinance mandates the adoption of the following measures: 

For households and business owners, they will be required to properly and tightly cover all water containers such as water drums, pails, and water gallons at all times; properly collect, store, dispose or recycle if possible, all unused tin cans, jars, bottles including covers or caps, pots and the like; check and drain water in all plant vases and pots, open bamboo poles or pipe posts, coconut shells, other natural or artificial containers that may accumulate water as these are potential breeding places of mosquitoes; properly dispose broken appliances and other bulky materials which may accumulate rain water; puncture or cut else properly dispose all old or discarded tires; conduct search and destroy activities inside and outside the buildings/homes by doing proper solid waste management, elimination of breeding sites; seek early consultation when experiencing fever of at least two days;

To wear protective clothing and apply mosquito repellant during the day; maintain all gutters of roof free from stagnant rain water; ensure that uninhabited buildings/structures must be free from all kinds of waste; ensure that buildings/structures under construction or repair must not accumulate stagnant water and solid wastes; treat abandoned swimming pools, water fountains, ponds, and the like with larvicides or other means of controlling vectors as allowed by the Health Services Office; and mix salt water or used oil with the stagnant water particularly in areas which are difficult to clean or areas which frequently accumulates stagnant rain water.

Residents and businesses are also required to secure clearance from the HSO prior to the use of chemicals for use of killing mosquitoes; to only allow accredited pest control operators to render services with the jurisdiction of the city; to report to hospitals or the nearest health center if any member of a family has any of the symptoms of dengue; implement other preventive and control measures that the DOH or the HSO may provide and introduce in the future; and to inform water authorities of broken water pipelines.