BY CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
The Department of Health supports the initiative of Bacolod Rep. Greg Gasataya to establish heart and kidney specialty centers in Bacolod City.
Gasataya said he was informed of the matter during a consultation meeting held by the House Committee on Health for House Bill No. 2686.
House Bill No. 2686, a bill seeking to establish the Bacolod-Negros Heart and Kidney Center, was initially filed by Gasataya as House Bill No. 7454 during his first term in the 17th Congress and was refiled as House Bill No. 2686 in 2019.
“Cardiovascular and renal diseases remain among the top causes of death in our country. At least 276 Filipinos die of heart disease daily while more than 28,000 undergo regular dialysis because of kidney problems,” the solon said.
Gasataya further added that plenty of Bacolodnons and Negrosanons go to his office in Metro Manila to seek medical assistance for their loved ones who are either admitted or about to undergo procedures in the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) and Philippine Heart Center (PHC) incurring additional expenses for travel, lodging and miscellaneous, and putting their ill loved ones at risk due to the lack of local facilities when the State should have been providing enough support to prevent such cases.
According to the solon, in the case of Negros Occidental, there are only two government dialysis centers in the province and only one tertiary government hospital that cater to patients in need of delicate cardiovascular and renal procedures.
“I am thankful for the support of the Department of Health and the House Committee on Health. This goes hand in hand with the Republic Act we authored establishing the Bacolod City General Hospital and I am hopeful that with the two facilities there will be more Bacolodnon lives saved from the current financial and geographical constraints of quality healthcare,” Gasataya said.*
