PGH CALLS FOR BREAST MILK DONORS FOR NEWBORN BABIES

The Philippine General Hospital (PGH) is calling for breast milk donations for newborn babies who were affected by the fire that hit the government-run facility last Sunday.

The University of the Philippines (UP)-PGH Human Milk Bank Center is accepting donated breast milk for admitted premature and sick babies.

“Newborns separated from their mothers due to illnesses are at the highest risk for death. Your milk can save these babies,” UP-PGH said in an advisory.

For private donors, donations may be dropped off at PGH Ortoll Primary Reproductive Health Care Center from Monday to Friday until 5 p.m.

According to a Facebook post shared by the UP-PGH Milk Bank, the fire affected power for its refrigerators where milk is stored.

Meanwhile, authorities at the Sta. Ana Hospital in Manila said yesterday that the babies who were transferred to their facility from the fire-hit PGH are all in good condition.

“Sila ay nasa maayos na kalagayan,” Dr. Grace Padilla, medical director of Sta. Ana Hospital, assured the parents of the babies in an interview with DZMM yesterday.

Padilla said the babies are also being fed well with pasteurized human milk which the hospital is getting from Manila’s human milk bank at the Justice Abad Santos General Hospital (JJASGH)

Those who wish to donate breast milk for the babies can coordinate with JJASGH, Padilla said.

Padilla said Sta. Ana Hospital is currently coordinating with PGH for the proper identification of the babies who were transferred to their care.

Twelve premature babies were transferred to the Sta. Ana Hospital’s care after the predawn fire at the PGH.

Due to damage left by the fire, the PGH has suspended all surgical operations yesterday.

Fire razed the hospital’s Operating Room Sterilization Area, which is adjacent to the operating rooms.

“Right now we have suspended all the operational procedures in the PGH. This is a major problem because we offer a lot of operational procedures for our kababayan. A lot of these procedures are specialized and only the PGH can offer them,” PGH spokesperson Dr. Jonas del Rosario said in an interview with ANC yesterday.

“We’re just praying that not a lot of instruments were destroyed and we can resume normal operations within 24 to 48 hours,” he added.

The PGH’s emergency room will also remain closed and admissions were suspended yesterday.

“We suspended the emergency room because that’s where we evacuated our patients temporarily. We have a new emergency room, it hasn’t been used but we opened it yesterday for everyone because that’s one way of segregating patients. We’re aware that we have COVID and non-COVID patients,” he added.

Some 153 patients occupy the hospital’s 250 COVID-19 beds, all of them have been returned to their designated wards and rooms after they evacuated on Sunday, according to Del Rosario.

The Bureau of Fire Protection and the Department of Public Works and Highways are set to investigate and evaluate what caused the blaze.