LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte (PIA) — The city government of Laoag bares its plan to upgrade facilities of the Laoag City General Hospital (LCGH) to give quality medical services to its patients in the province.
According to LCGH officer-in-charge, Dr. Marsha Lou Wapan, the hospital has launched a five-year development plan for 2024 to 2029, which aims to improve the hospital’s healthcare facilities and services.
By 2029, the hospital hopes to be a level two hospital and increase its bed capacity from 50 to 100 to accommodate more patients.
To upgrade its facilities, ₱28 million from the city government’s budget was allotted to ensure the continuous operation of the hospital, especially to fix the hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU) and operating room (OR), to purchase fire protection equipment, and to upgrade rooms.
An additional ₱20 million will also be used for the purchase of medicine, laboratory equipment, and other medical paraphernalia.
Lastly, another ₱19 million is allotted for its maintenance and operating expenses.
Mayor Michael Marcos Keon hopes that the hospital’s steady increase in profits this year will enable it to surpass last year’s earnings by August.
“Based on financial reports, LCGH is ₱7.3 million away from achieving the yearly collection for the whole of 2023. Based on current change in collections, by August, we will hopefully surpass the collections of 2023,” he said.
He added that the hospital’s new state-of-the-art Computerized Tomography (CT) scan, which opened on June 4, contributed greatly to its increased profits.
The hospital recently celebrated its 13th anniversary last July 22. (MJTAB/EJFG, PIA Ilocos Norte)
