Kalinga hospital dialysis ward opens

By Peter Balocnit

CITY OF TABUK, Kalinga -- Dialysis patients in the province  will no longer  have to travel  far for their treatment  after the provincial government inked partnership with St. Mary Kidney Care, Inc. (SMKCI) for the operation of   dialysis ward  at the  Kalinga Provincial Hospital  here.
    The memorandum of agreement for dialysis operation   was signed between Gov, Ferdinand Tubban and Pelagio Pangilinan representing SMKCI, a private corporation.
    Under the MOA, the provincial government will provide the building at back of the Kalinga Provincial Hospital to SMKCI for use as dialysis ward.
    It will also allow the SMKCI to use 10 dialysis machines and accessories donated by the Dept. of Health.
    Should SMKCI desire to expand the dialysis units’ capacity, it will provide additional BBraun dialysis machines together with its maintenance without any cost to the PLGU.
    SMKCI shall install and maintain a 6000 GPD reverse osmosis water system vital to the daily operations of the dialysis unit and handle human resource requirements.
    The MOA also provides that the SMKCI shall pay the provincial government its monetary shares equivalent to P300 of the effective dialysis treatment price, whichever is higher.
    The effective treatment price is the total amount charged to a patient every dialysis, regardless of source.
    According to the PLGU, the Kalinga Provincial Hospital dialysis ward obtained its license to operate last Dec. 28 and is valid until Dec. 31, 2022. 
    It will get   accreditation from PhilHealth after the annual reset of its services. 
    The dialysis ward is now open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday.  On its first month, the plan is   to operate by considering the machines' capacity for reprocessing per treatment.  
    The cost per treatment is  P2, 900.
    The Sangguniang Panlalawigan approved resolution 2020-170 on August 11, 2020 authorizing the governor to enter into a MOA with the SMKCI relative to the establishment of dialysis center in Kalinga.  -- PIA Kalinga