TACLOBAN CITY – The town of Palompon in Leyte now boasts its dialysis center, four years after it was first planned by the local government unit.
The establishment of the dialysis center is a fulfillment of their mandate to provide basic health services to their people, Mayor Ramon Oñate said.
The municipal mayor said that this is the first dialysis center in Palompon which is situated within the compound of their rural health center.
The local government unit allocated P12.8 million for the putting up of said facility which started its operation on Monday (May 6).
Mayor Oňate said that this project had been planned for about four years after they observed that patients from his municipality who need to undergo dialysis treatment have to travel to Tacloban, Ormoc, and even Cebu.
“It is very hard for people to transport their patients and even the cost of maintenance as the cost of payment at the dialysis center is very costly,” Mayor Oňate said.
“A poor dialysis patient cannot sustain this,” Mayor the town mayor added.
Dialysis sessions cost P6,000 to P7,000 per session, a huge amount for poor people.
In a week, a patient will need to undergo three dialysis sessions.
Oñate said that the facility provides free dialysis to residents of Palompon town.
At least 12 to 18 patients a day can be catered by the dialysis center, according to the mayor.
He added that the facility is PhilHealth accredited and also with the Department of Health.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
