[ Manila Bulletin Online ] August 21, 2008
By JACK C. GADAINGAN
TACLOBAN CITY — The provincial government-run Leyte Provincial Hospital (LPH) can now accommodate more patients who avail themselves of its free services.
The came about after the completion of the 25-bed hospital ward expansion.
Leyte Gov. Carlos Jericho "Icot’’ L. Petilla, who recently made an inspection of the new ward, said confined patients at LPH have been increasing, thus the need for expansion.
Even the hospital’s outpatient department, Petilla said, is also crowded daily with patients who undergo medical consultations and physical examinations.
It was learned that 20 percent of the fund for the ward expansion work was shouldered by the provincial government, while bulk of the expenses came from the earnings of the hospital.
The 25-bed ward is seen to accommodate influx of patients who are placed in the hospital’s hallways when private rooms and public wards are already fully-occupied.
"We have been implementing innovative policies to improve our hospitals. Thus far, they have managed to increase their income from paying patients, and the income goes back to the hospitals in the form of improvements, expansions or rehabilitations of existing facilities,’’ Petilla said.
