THE medical staff of Pamarawan Hospital, the only hospital located in Pamarawan Island in the City of Malolos, revealed that they reuse their Personal Protective Equipment or PPEs.
The hospital, which serves ten coastal island villages, said they recycle their PPEs to support the provincial government’s concentrated effort in treating COVID-19 patients in Bulacan Medical Center-Bulacan Infection Control Center (BMC-BICC).
On Friday, Bulacan Governor Daniel Fernando visited the Pamarawan Island after distributing relief goods to at least 1,200 families and had the chance to visit also the Pamarawan Hospital, the extension of the Bulacan Medical Center to know the present situation there.
Pamarawan Hospital Director Alfredo Agmata informed the governor that they need to reuse their PPE’s and don’t just throw them away.
“We soak them in disinfectant every afternoon and dry them outside,” he told the governor.
Agmata said recycling the PPE is just one way of helping the government address the health crisis while they only cater to small communities.
He said the hospital staff has 19 members who help him in the daily hospital operation. However, one of his nurses is now under quarantine for contracting the disease.
Pamarawan Hospital, conducts RT-PCR laboratory tests for COVID-19 wherein they have tested 14 positive cases among the residents and were sent to the BMC-BICC quarantine control facilities.
It was learned that Agmata, who lives in Barangay Tikay, travels via a 20-minute boat-ride everyday to perform his hospital duties.
Pamarawan Island with more than 3,000 population is the largest island village in this capital city of Bulacan.
The hospital also caters to nearby islands of Namayan, Caliligawan and Masili and Tibaguin and Pugad in Hagonoy and Binakod, Masukol and Sta. Cruz in Paombong.
“He (Fernando) gave us special cash allowance from the governor’s office and full payment for medical staff undergoing quarantine as well as medicine and supportive therapies through the hospital aside from those coming from the national government,” Dr. Agmata said.
Pamarawan hospital was built in the 1980’s as a BMC extension, which Fernando ordered renovated when he assumed his post in 2019.