Mt Province drug rehab center to cater to more clients in Cordillera

By Liza Agoot 

TADIAN, Mountain Province – A Dept. of Health-managed drug rehabilitation facility here can fully cater to more patients in Cordillera once it gets the license to offer additional services such as in-patient dormitory by 2024.
    The one-hectare land area facility at the Luis Hora Memorial Regional Hospital in Bauko, Mountain Province started operations in the first quarter this year and have around 42-45 staff.
    "From the second self-assessment conducted, we have already complied with all the requirements for a permit to be issued. We hope to receive the permit before the end of the year so that we can provide additional services to the clients,” said Randy Samonte, supervising administrative officer of the Drug Addiction Treatment and Rehabilitation Center-Mountain Province (DATRC-MP), in a briefing in Baguio City on Thursday.
    The permit to operate is issued by the DOH central office.
    Samonte said they have limited services to date and the facility is authorized to cater to clients from Benguet, Mountain Province, and Ifugao only. 
    The nearest DOH-managed drug rehabilitation facility is in San Fabian, Pangasinan.
    Currently, the facility provides technical assistance on substance abuse prevention and mental health, proactive advocacies on substance abuse prevention and mental health, drug dependency examination, and monitoring drug testing.
    Samonte said that once the permit is issued, DATRC-MP will be able to expand its services to providing accredited services like community advocacies, aftercare programs, technical assistance, drug dependency examination for persons using drugs, management of medical emergencies and minor surgical procedures, management of co-occurring psychiatric conditions, psychological testing, therapeutic counseling, case management, group therapy session, physical assessment, health education, drug testing, nutrition management for drug dependents, family intervention and psychoeducation, life skills and livelihood training, spiritual and religious activities, and the intake and psychosocial assessment and counseling.
    “As soon as we receive the permit, we hope to reach Kalinga, Apayao, and Abra,” he added.
    Samonte said DATRC-MP is the first and only government facility in the Cordillera that caters to persons who used drugs (PWUDs) and is now 70 percent ready to perform the mandate for which it was established. -- PNA