Iloilo city council is amenable to a proposed ordinance renaming the La Paz Maternity and Reproductive Health Center into a full-fledged Iloilo City Maternity and Reproductive Health Hospital.
However, city councilor Lyndon Acap said there are certain requirements of the Department of Health which need to be complied before the center is upgraded into a city hospital.
Acap, chairman of the Sangguniang Panlungsod committee on health, sanitation and hospital services, said the center is currently being reconstructed by the city government and the workforce composed of doctors,nurses and midwives have transferred temporarily to the city hospital annex at the Western Visayas Medical Center since last year.
Construction of the maternity hospital is expected to be completed within 2014 so that full operation starts as a reproductive health hospital specializing in child and maternal health, birthing, new born screening and other maternal and child health services, among others.
In his committee report as the second and final reading to the SP, Acap stressed that primary health care requirements of the DOH must be complied with before full hospital operation status.
The city has funded P25 million for the center upgrading and equipment donations from the DOH and other private donors are forthcoming.
