LOOK: DOH opens Ilocos Sur Medical Center in Candon

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health (DOH) in Ilocos Region recently inaugurated the Ilocos Sur Medical Center (ISMC) in Candon City, around 250 kilometers north of Manila, opening one wing, which will serve as an infirmary until the facility’s grand opening in early 2023. 

The facility, located along Heroes ByPass Road in Barangay Parioc Primero of Candon will have the following amenities, according to a press release from the DOH:

• 500 beds overall
• 100 beds in the emergency room
• Outpatient department
• Rehabilitation building
• Dialysis building
• Dietary building
• Administrative and records building
• Maintenance building

Situated within an 18,000-square-meter land, the hospital will serve patients from Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, and Abra. 

“ISMC will transition to a Level 1 hospital in the next month, and eventually it will be in full operation by early next year as an end-referral apex hospital,” DOH Ilocos Regional Director Paula Paz Sydiongco said during the inauguration October 7.

“This facility will also help decongest the  Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center (ITRMC) in San Fernando City, and other health facilities, as patients needing specialty medical services will easily receive the medical assistance they need, including better and improved health services. It will soon to be at par with the best hospitals in the country,” she added.

Created by Republic Act 11705, ISMC has received a total funding of P368.5 million from 2018 to 2022 under the DOH-Health Facility Enhancement Program. Some P295 million was provided for hospital equipment. 

When it started construction, it was still known as the Candon City Hospital, a satellite of the Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center (ITRMC).

“With the ISMC’s inclusion in the health care system, we can endeavor to rise to the challenge of the current pandemic and work towards the attainment of our goals for Universal Health Care,” Sydiongco said. 

She also attributed the realization of having this hospital in Ilocos Sur to the close working relationship of the DOH regional office and the local governments. Sydiongco led the soft opening of ISMC with Candon City Mayor Eric Singson. – Rappler.com