Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark A Villar declared that the government continue to cope with the health crisis by providing enough and timely infrastructure support in the fight versus COVID-19.
Using modular components, our DPWH Task Force to Facilitate Augmentation of Local and National Healthcare Facilities is building pop-up hospital that will be used to augment the existing COVID-19 isolation facilities at Quezon Institute in E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue, Quezon City, said Secretary Villar.
“As we gradually defeat the pandemic, we will not be complacent but instead continue in backing our healthcare system by putting up more health facilities nationwide,” said Secretary Villar.
In his report to Secretary Villar following an occular inspection, Undersecretary and Task Force Head Emil K. Sadain said that two (2) units of modular off-site hospital with a total of 44 beds is targetted to be completed before Christmas.
Also present during the project inspection are members of the DPWH Task Force namely Directors Eric Ayapana, Ernesto Gregorio, Aristarco Doroy, and Edgardo Garces.
DPWH is putting up at Quezon Institute compound five (5) modular hospitals with total bed capacity of 110 for moderate to severe/ critical patients.
Once completed, the Department of Health (DOH) will manage these facilities with Jose Reyes Memorial Hospital.
The modular hospital was designed by the DPWH Task Force in coordination with DOH to have specific rooms for the donning or putting on of health care professionals’ personal protective equipment (PPE) such as disposable gowns, gloves and shoe covers and area for doffing or taking off of PPEs in order to protect and limit spread of contamination.
The field modular hospital will also have a copper tube for oxygen and tanks, separate nursing station, equipment laboratory, pantry, storage, CCTV lines, and monitoring board.
Other than the modular hospital facilities, Undersecretary Sadain also reported the completion of two (2) dormitories put up by DPWH at Quezon Institute compound.
These offsite dormitories will serve as temporary shelter for some 64 health workers manning the hospital operations at Quezon Institute, said Undersecretary Sadain.
Undersecretary Sadain further stated that as of today, there are already 462 healthcare facilities completed by DPWH nationwide serving 17,935 beds capacity in this pandemic.