A new dialysis center will open in Cebu City starting August 14, 2020. | Photo Courtesy of Cebu CIty PIO
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A dialysis center for non-Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients will open in a mall at the South Road Properties here starting August 14, 2020.
The dialysis center will be managed by the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) and will be open for dialysis patients who are not being quarantined or isolated for COVID-19.
Another dialysis center was set up at the Cebu City Quarantine Center at the North Reclamation Area (NRA) exclusively for COVID-19 patients.
Read: Cebu City Quarantine Center to be expanded
The dialysis center at the mall will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The city government assured that safety protocols are set to prevent possible contamination of the coronavirus.
Patients from Cebu City and Cebu Province may avail of the services at the mall.
“Dako kaayo ning matabang kay daghan kaayo natong mga kabos nga mga kaigsoonan nga maglisod intawn kay ang usa ka session kay tag P3,000 or more,” said Mayor Edgardo Labella.
(This is a huge help for our underprivileged constituents who cannot afford a dialysis sessios, which is worth P3,000 or more.)
The new dialysis center has 15 dialysis units. Dialysis patients from the VSMMC will be taken to the center for their sessions. This way, dialysis patients will be far from COVID-19 patients, which means the risk of contracting the disease is lesser.
“Very important kaayo dako kaayo og tabang ni sa mga kidney failure nga dialysis patients kay sa Vicente Sotto palang over burden na kaayo mi. Ang among patients nga 300 to 400, ma delay ilang sessions sa kadaghan nila unya limited ang machines. So atleast kung kini naay bag-ong machines ma distribute ang uban and ma improve pod ang services specially sa nag dialysis,” said Dr. Ariel Inco of VSMMC, who will manage the dialysis center.
(This is very important to kidney failure dialysis patients because at Vicente Sotto, we are overburdened. Our 300 to 400 dialysis patients suffered through delayed sessions because of limited machines. So at least, with the new machines, we can improve our sevices especially on dialysis.) /bmjo