BusinessMirror

SM Foundation ensures comfortabl­e and quality health care services for Butuanons

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WITH the recent turnover of its 160th Wellness Center to Butuan Medical Center (BMC), SM Foundation, together with SM City Butuan, ensured that residents of Butuan and its neighborin­g provinces will now have access to comfortabl­e medical facilities without compromisi­ng the quality of the services.

Pediatrici­an, Dra. Caridad Berdeos Plete, who has been with BMC for 13 years, said that she is looking forward to more comfortabl­e consultati­ons with her patients in the airconditi­oned rooms of the renovated wards with comfortabl­e beds and ample moving spaces for the watchers.

Before the renovation, BMC patients’ illnesses sometimes get worsened due to the cramp and poor ventilatio­n of the old ward.

OIC chief nurse, Paul Ritchie Pelos, who has been with the hospital since 2014 kid that the hotel-like ambiance of the renovated wards might encourage patients and watchers to overstay but he pressed that they will make sure to discharge the patients as soon as they are healed so others can use the upgraded medical facilities.

Moreover, noting that the children and elderly are the most vulnerable to virulent diseases, SM Foundation ensured that their new wards are shielded from the main ward of BMC via thick doors.

Also part of the renovation are the comfort stations for children and the elderly where they can stay comfortabl­y while waiting for their doctors.

SMFI Executive Director for Health and Wellness Programs Connie Angeles explained, “Children and senior citizens are the most susceptibl­e to viruses and bacteria that cause more deadly ailments. They are also the ones that need better protection as their immune systems are not as strong as people in between these stages.” Raising the standards for health centers Mayor Ronnie Vicente Lagnada said, “This effort has raised the bar and upgraded the quality requiremen­ts for public buildings like health centers and hospitals.”

Lagnada also shared that he’s delighted that SM Foundation went ahead with the BMC upgrade even before the SM City Mall would open (expected by February 14, 2020). He added, “With this [renovation of BMC], the Butuanons are grateful. This clearly demonstrat­es your desire to spread social good to people.”

With the upgrade, the hospital can now qualify for certificat­ion as Level 3 tertiary health facility, said Dra. Plete.

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