The Ilocos Times

HUMAN MILK BANK. The medical personnel of the human milk bank of Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center processes a 10-liter donated human milk on Dec. 28, 2020. The first of its kind in the Ilocos region, the facility is established for the purpose of ensuring that babies, particularly those born prematurely and are undernourished, will have immediate access to breast milk. Photo courtesy of Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center. City of BATAC—Newborn babies here will no longer lack of safe breast milk as the first human milk bank (HMB) in Ilocos Region is now open in the biggest public hospital in Ilocos Norte. More than two years in the making, the HMB in Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (MMMH&MC) here was established to aid in the nutrition and protection of babies especially those who are born prematurely and undernourished. In a country often plagued by natural disasters, HMBs also play a vital role in ensuring that babies ...

  State-run Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center initiates a virtual workshop-simulation of Tangguyob: An integrated referral and disaster management system among health-workers and IT specialists from several public health facilities across the province. The referral system is set to be fully implemented on December 1, 2020 and is eyed to strengthen MMMH&MC's health-care provider network with institutions in Ilocos Norte as well as its neighboring provinces. ( Photo courtesy of Jazper Quemquem) City of Batac—As it aims to strengthen the cooperation among health facilities across Ilocos Norte and its neighboring provinces, state-run Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (MMMHMC) in this city is gearing to fully implement a digital integrated referral system on December 1, 2020. Dubbed as “Tangguyob”, which refers to a local carabao-horn instrument used in the early days to summon people for a tribal meeting or affair, the system was developed t...

  The Ilocos Norte COVID-19 testing lab  (Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center-HEPO/Public Health Facebook Page) Laoag City —The second Department of Health (DOH)-held hospital to be certified for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing in the Ilocos Region and the first to utilize GeneXpert technology, Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (MMMH&MC) in Batac City can now offer COVID-19 testing. "We had our GeneXpert already operational at MMMH&MC and we thank them. They have passed the Practical Competency Exam, accreditation, and training. They have already been certified by DOH so hopefully, it shouldn’t take very long before they can start testing," remarked Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc in his latest press briefing.  Notably, the GeneXpert technology got accredited before the laboratory's polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machine. The Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte (PGIN) through the leadership...

BATAC CITY—Boosting its capability to detect the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) among Northern Luzon residents, state-run Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (MMMH&MC) here gets additional accreditation to conduct real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test. The license to operate an RT-PCR test was given by the Department of Health (DOH) which recognizes it as the “gold-standard” in diagnostic confirmation for people who might have contracted Covid-19. Dr. Maria Lourdes K. Otayza, medical center chief II, called the accreditation a “notable achievement” despite having recorded a third Covid-19 positive case in over two months. “We share this accomplishment with the provincial government through the leadership of Governor Matthew Marcos-Manotoc,” added Dr. Otayza. Earlier this month, MMMH&MC was also given a go signal to operate an independent Covid-19 testing molecular laboratory with a first accreditation to conduct rapid PCR test using the alter...

HEALTH  workers of the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center wave to Covid-19 positive survivors following their release at the hospital. (File photo courtesy of the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center's official Facebook page). By John Michael Mugas BATAC CITY—When the Philippine government imposed a total lockdown in Luzon island in March, most were mandated to “stay at home” to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 ( Covid -19). During that time, the world was already on a standstill with many countries already waging a war against an unseen enemy. Fear abound from all walks of life as Covid -19’s death toll continues to rise day by day. While some of us had our share of sacrifice by being safe inside our homes, there are those who needed to be outside while carrying the heavy responsibility of building the country’s defenses against Covid-19. Shining through these difficult times, they are our modern-day heroes—our health worke...

  Batac Mayor Albert D. Chua turns over the PHP3 million check as medical trust fund to MMMH-MC chief Dr. Maria Lourdes Otayza at the Sangguniang Panlungsod on January 30, 2020. (Doms dela Cruz) By Leilanie G. Adriano and Dominic B. dela Cruz Staff Reporters CITY of batac —The city government here turned over on January 30,2020 a check for PHP3 million which is intended as medical trust fund to the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (MMMH&MC) for indigent patients from this city in need of assistance when they are treated at the government hospital. According to Batac Mayor Albert D. Chua, the city medical trust fund aims to provide immediate assistance to hospital bills, medicines and/or diagnostic procedures to less fortunate in-patient and out-patient residents of Batac. “We will prioritize indigent or needy residents with hospital expenses which are not covered by the PhilHealth,” said Mr. Chua. With a readily available amount, r...