The Medical City, PCCH partner for coronavirus response

In a virtual presser, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the TMC will serve as the acute care center for severe Covid-19 cases while the PCCH will take care of mild to moderate adult cases.   (File photo Adam Nieścioruk/Unsplash)

MANILA — The Department of Health (DOH) on Sunday announced the public-private partnership of The Medical City (TMC) and Pasig City Children’s Hospital (PCCH) in response to the national government’s call for support in fighting the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-2019) pandemic.

In a virtual presser, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the TMC will serve as the acute care center for severe Covid-19 cases while the PCCH will take care of mild to moderate adult cases.

TMC Chief Executive Officer Dr. Eugenio Jose Ramos, meanwhile, reported that PCCH has 68 beds, 12 Intensive Care Units and six ventilators.

“Medyo kulang sa staffing…the pediatricians lilipat sa ibang (There’s need for more staff… the pediatricians will transfer to other) hospitals and 26 organic staff will be left,” he said.

Ramos added that adult medical doctor front-liners from other Pasig hospitals will be asked to be part of the PCCH, which will be designated as the Pasig City COVID Hospital.

“‘Yung mga suspected pa lang… mas mahusay na doon sila magpunta sa quarantine places na hinahanda ng gobiyerno…may mga motels na sa Pasig na nakontrata na ni Mayor Vico Sotto para sa ganitong mga kaso (For suspected cases, it would be best that they go to quarantine places prepared by the government. Mayor Vico Sotto had a deal with some motels in Pasig for such cases), we’ll make this as a model and share it to the rest of the country,” he said.

Stressing the importance of such partnership between TMC and PCCH, Vergeire said many hospitals have expressed interest in replicating this partnership in their areas.

Vergeire also reported that 12 Chinese experts have arrived in the country on Sunday to share their knowledge in treating Covid-19 patients.

She added that they are expected to visit hospitals, laboratories and quarantine facilities to assess the situation and give recommendations.

The DOH, she said, will release their assessment results in the coming days.

“They also brought 5,000 personal protective equipment, 30,000 N95 and 300,000 medical masks, 5,000 face shields, and 30 ventilators to be given to different hospitals in the country,” Vergeire said in Filipino