LEMERY, Batangas”•The Lemery Municipal Health Center, which caters to 46 barangays with a total population of 93,157, has been improved by the SM Foundation and officially turned over to local government officials and its health officials.
Considered a “mother center,” the health center here serves around 150 patients a day.
Aside from its current PhilHealth accreditation for Out-patient Benefit Package (OPB) and Tubercolosis-Directly Observed Treatment Strategy (TB-DOTS), the center now has an Animal Bite Treatment Center, a Cold Chain Storage Room for vaccines, and a Medicine Storage Area.
The Pharmacy has medicines neatly tucked and displayed in cubicles, making it easy for the center’s Pharmacist to identify medicines that are given to patients after diagnosis.
These new features of the center are new requirements of PhilHealth for its accreditation.
The center also includes the Felicidad Sy Wellness Center for Children and the Elderly, a reception area, pre-natal and breastfeeding room, conference room, doctors’ rooms, consultation area, laboratory, TB-Dots Room, and a new comfort room for persons with disabilities.
The Health Center”•the 34th so far improved by SM Foundation”•sits on an 800 sq. meter property donated by the International Bank of Rural Development in 1975, during the Marcos administration.
According to Leandro de Ramos, Public Health nurse of the Center for the past 12 years, upper respiratory diseases and diarrhea are the most common cases treated in Lemery. In serious cases, patients are referred to the Provincial Hospital in Barangay Palanos.
The Center has a municipal health doctor and a dentist, with a complement of two nurses and 10 midwives.
Connie Angeles, senior vice president and executive director of SM Foundation, formally turned over the completed and fully equipped Lemery Municipal Health Center to Vice Mayor Simonette Rosales and Dr. Janice Umali-Kahulugan, OIC of the Center.
Municipal councilors, barangay officials and health workers witnessed the turnover.
Also on hand to lend support to the Foundation were members of the SM Group led by John Jason Terenal, assistant vice president of Mall Operations at SCMC South; Cid Luis Victoria, regional manager Mall Operation; Armie Andal of SM Store; and Lyn Gabriel, mall manager of SM Center Lemery.
SM Malls are tasked to monitor periodically the physical needs of the health center and all projects of the Foundation within the vicinity of the malls.
Like all SM Foundation-donated infrastructures, maintenance of these donations are part and parcel of the agreement signed by the foundation and the local government unit handling the project.
