NVPH’s CT Scan Center soon to open

NVPH’s CT Scan Center soon to open

The Nueva Vizcaya Provincial Hospital (NVPH) in the Municipality of Bambang, which is being managed and operated by the Provincial Government of Nueva Vizcaya (PGNV), is indeed fortunate for having been chosen as one of the 33 beneficiary-provincial hospitals across the country to receive a CT Scan machine under the “Health System Enhancement to Address and Limit (HEAL) COVID-19” Project of the Asian Development Bank and the Republic of the Philippines.

Chief of Hospital Dr. Arlene I. Jara was proud to declare that the NVPH is one among the first four beneficiaries assessed by the DOH’s Technical Inspection Team as “most ready” for the said project.

This was mainly due to the order of Governor Carlos M. Padilla to immediately convert the unfinished Watchers’ Lounge of the hospital into a CT Scan building, which is one of the major requirements of the joint ADB-RP project. Engr. Franz Joseph P. Yoshiy of the Provincial Engineering Office, designated Manager for NVPH’s Infrastructure Projects since January 2018, said that they commenced the conversion of the earmarked structure in October 2021.

The CT Scan machine and its appendages, donated through the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), were delivered to the NVPH-CTSC on February 23, 2022 by representatives of the Department of Health (DOH).

Dr. Jara said that the NVPH management is in close coordination with the DOH’s Technical Teams to expedite the installation and testing of the medical equipment, along with the training of at least nine personnel who will be managing the day-to-day operations of the CT Scan Center (CTSC), as they have targeted its launching in April.

She also said that the NVPH has already forged a Memorandum of Agreement with a Manila-based practicing Fellow in Radiology who shall serve as CTSC’s collaborator through Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM).

DICOM is the international standard for medical images and related information. It defines the formats for medical images that can be exchanged with the data and quality necessary for clinical use. This technology is implemented in almost every radiology, cardiology imaging, and radiotherapy device (X-ray, CT, MRI, ultrasound, etc.), and increasingly in devices in other medical domains such as ophthalmology and dentistry. [https://www.dicomstandard.org]

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Edwin B. Galapon said that the PGNV had worked hard to qualify for the project starting in 2020 when the DOH issued its call for applications.

He added that only walk-in patients will be charged some fees, since PhilHealth shoulders those of admitted patients.

Relative to hospital charges, Provincial Treasurer Rhoda S. Moreno stressed that, in comparison with the national government hospitals in the Region, the NVPH’s fees are lower on account of the PGNV’s policy of charging only some minimal amounts that are just enough for the upkeep of its hospitals.

She said that her office had already submitted to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan the list of CTSC fees for appropriate legislative action. #mccd

Dr. Arlene I. Jara, Chief of the Nueva Vizcaya Provincial Hospital (NVPH) in Bambang, and  Engr. Franz Joseph P. Yoshiy of the Provincial Engineering Office, designated Manager for NVPH’s Infrastructure Projects, in front of the CT Scan Center.