The Provincial Board finally bit the bullet and decided on the matter of whether or not to borrow money to construct the central block, a building at the Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital.
It took a lot of hemming and hawing as issues were being raised for or against the measure. On one hand, there was the DPWH funding for the central block. According to the Department of Health, which was one of the news stories of this paper last week, the matter of funding the construction of the central block automatically was the concern of the DPWH.
In the end, six voted in favor while five voted against the issue of giving the Governor clearance to borrow money.
We laud the Provincial Board for making this decision. After all, everyone can see how those ambulances from other towns and cities of the province come screaming toward Dumaguete in order to get yet another patient to the NOPH every day.
By the frequency of their trips to Dumaguete, it would seem that there are no other hospitals in Negros Oriental but the NOPH and the two other private hospitals in Dumaguete. So the result is that the NOPH overflows with patients while the district hospitals are practically empty or are made as mere first-aid clinics.
A well-run hospital should make money. What the province now needs is a person who can look beyond government subsidies to raise funds for the NOPH’s operations.
So the first step to getting the money has been made. Let’s talk about who gets the credit later.
