Bulacan town opens new Covid-19 care facility
BOCAUE, Bulacan – A new P305-million public hospital named after the late town mayor Joni Villanueva was opened here on Friday.
Sen at or Joel Villanueva led the inauguration of the Joni Villanueva Memorial Hospital located in Barangay Igulot in time for the commemoration of his late sister's first death anniversary.
Villanueva said the inauguration was offered in the memory of the late mayor who died due to sepsis secondary to bacterial pneumonia.
"Mayor Joni is not only a signage but a legacy who served the people of Bocaue. This hospital is a fulfillment of Mayor Joni's lofty dream for all of the Bocaueños and Bulakenyos," the senator said during the event.
The Joni Villanueva Memorial Hospital, also known as Jose B. Lingad Memorial Hospital (JBLMH) Field Extension, will cater to symptomatic mild to moderate confirmed Covid-19 cases in Central Luzon and the National Capital Region to help decongest tertiary hospitals and enhance the surge capacity of existing health facilities in the areas.
The three-storey hospital will be managed and run by the national government through the Department of Health (DOH).
It is located in a one-hectare lot area of land with a 2,420- square meter floor area, donated by the late mayor.
National Task Force (NTF) Deputy Chief Implementer and testing czar, Secretary Vince Dizon, said the newly-built hospital will temporarily serve as extension to help accommodate Covid-19 patients in Bulacan and nearby pr ovi nces.
Other Covid-19 hospitals in the province are Bulacan Medical Hospital and Bulacan Infectious Control Center in Malolos City.
The construction of a hospital in Bocaue town was one of the platforms of the late mayor when she first ran for the mayoralty post.
With the help of her brother-senator and the CIBAC Party-List, the project was gradually brought to fruition.
“Mayor Joni gave her all in the service of the people of Bocaue. She has truly lived out her principles. Bocaueños and Bulakeños deserve nothing but the best,” former CIBAC Representative and the late mayor's husband, Sherwin Tugna, said during the inauguration.
Also present in the event were Gov. Daniel Fernando, DOH Undersecretaries Roger Tong-An and Leopoldo Vega, DOH Assistant Secretary Maria Francia Miciano-Laxamana and other health officials. (PNA)