Japan’s P594-M new Aurora hospital to be turned-over next month

BALER, Aurora, November 22, 2011-The Japanese government is scheduled on December 14, 2011 to turn-over the P594-million project of the new Aurora Memorial Hospital (AMH) to the provincial government in this capital town which has completed its buildings and structures at Brgy. Reserva.

Aurora Governor Bellaflor Angara-Castillo said that the new AMH will fortify medical referral system and give quality medical services for the people of Aurora through the grant of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

“The Japanese representatives are coming ahead of the schedule this December for the turn-over at the 3.8 hectare project site in Barangay Reserva” Angara-Castillo said.

She also mentioned her brother Senator Edgardo J. Angara, who initiated the project together with Congressman Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara and with the kindness of the Japanese government through Japanese Ambassador Makoto Katsura, JICA Chief Representative Norio Matsuda, Japanese Embassy First Secretary Takeshi Sakata and Health Secretary Enrique Ona among others.

“This will serve as a general hospital playing a central role in the local health referral system included aside from improving of the AMH’s infrastructure and equipment while the old 70 year old Aurora Memorial Hospital located near the Baler Park will be the emergency operation department of the new hospital,” Angara-Castillo said.

“It’s inspiring, the Japanese government continued the project despite the devastation that happened in their place, the hospital was funded through a P509-million grant from the Japanese government,” Angara-Castillo said.

She explained that Japan added latest equipment for the hospital while the provincial government funded P85-million as counterpart in building up the new AMH.

“It’s a blessing when I was in Japan and I signed the two (2) aids for the Aurorans. The facilities and equipments will be the most advanced in the entire region,” Angara-Castillo said, explaining the generosity of Japan for the people of Aurora despite the Japans problem on nuclear radiation brought by the killer earthquake and tsunami.

The old AMH has only 25-bed capacity hospital’s license was even lowered from Level 2 to Level 1 when the Department of Health clamped down on hospitals without a trained surgeon and an anesthesiologist; thus, the Angaras sought assistance from the Japanese government which, in response, conducted a preparatory survey in January 2009 and dispatched a basic design team in June of that same year.

On March 15, 2010, the Exchange of Notes was signed in Manila by then-Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo and Katsura.

“Yearly, the AMH would be able to confine 800 more patients without transferring them to other provinces and will lessen the financial burden on the part of the families with the upgraded facilities, adding that it would also increase by nearly twice the total patient-days confined from the present 7,700 patient-days to 13,000 patient-days.

The improved facilities would also enhance the hospital’s examination and medical care capacities, especially in surgery and obstetrics and gynecology departments and the quality of medical services. In the process, the AMH would also be used as the training institution for the midwifery and nursing students from the University of the Philippines School of Health Sciences in the province.

Angara-Castillo said that after the turn-over of the new hospital, they will already setup for its full operation in the 1^st quarter of 2012, targeting February 14 as the province celebrates the Aurora day foundations and valentines’ day or will move it on February 18.

Angara-Castillo is now working for additional five (5) doctors aside from the current doctors in the province for the new hospital who are specialists in their chosen fields in medicine such as surgeon, anesthesiologist, pediatrician, internal medicine among others.

The governor also instructed Dr. Rio Florido, chief of Casiguran district hospital and Dr. Luisito G. Teh, provincial health officer  to find more doctors for the province, explaining that Angara-Castillo will provide additional benefits for them such as scholarship, free board and lodging to mention a few. (Jason de Asis)