SAN CARLOS CITY: Dr. Marie Lynn Fama was emotional as she recalled what she and her hospital colleagues here had to go through at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
“The past two years have been the most challenging to the Pangasinan Provincial Hospital (PPH) as an organization,” says Fama, the PPH chief, in her speech at the commemorative program for the hospital’s 77th founding anniversary here on Thursday, September 29.
As one of the designated Covid referral centers in Pangasinan at that time, Fama says that the hospital and its workers suffered the most during the pandemic.
“Remember the times when there was an inadequate supply of PPEs (personal protective equipment)?” Fama asks.
It was also during those times, she adds, when the hospital’s emergency room, wards, rooms and tents were not enough because Covid-19 patients had swarmed the hospital.
But it was these experiences, Fama says, that has made them stronger, creative and innovative to continue to meet the needs of the patients.
“Looking back, it’s hard to imagine how all of us survived, but we did it by holding on together and because of God’s sustaining grace,” says Fama.
Gov. Ramon Guico 3rd, who was the guest of honor at the celebration, urged hospital workers to continue serving the patients there.
He also disclosed plans to expand the operations of all the provincial government-run hospitals by acquiring additional equipment, such as dialysis machines, to serve more patients.
Aside from the PPH, the provincial government also runs six district hospitals in the towns of Tayug, Bayambang, Mangatarem and Lingayen, and in the cities of Alaminos and Urdaneta.
It also has seven community hospitals in the towns of Mapandan, Asingan, Pozorrubio, Bolinao, Umingan, Dasol and Manaoag.
The hospital began as a Civilian Emergency Hospital in 1945, built by the Philippine Civil Affairs Unit of the United States Army shortly after World War 2.
Three years later, it was named San Carlos Maternity and Children’s Hospital under the Bureau of Health. “That is why until now, mothers continue to come here to give birth,” says Fama.
In 1993, the hospital became a provincial hospital after its management and operations were devolved to the provincial government.
Fama says that at present, PPH is a Level 2 hospital with an approved 250-bed capacity.
“Since its founding, each year is a milestone for us. In recent years, the most significant change in our development as an organization is our certification with ISO 9001,” Fama says.
PPH was certified in 2014 and recertified with an upgraded version in 2018, paving the way for the continuous improvement of its management and health care services.
“As we close another year of our existence and enter a new chapter, let us move forward with renewed commitment. Let us embrace the grand vision of our new provincial government. Let us be part of its inspiring vision,” Fama says.