BALANGA CITY (PIA) — The provincial government of Bataan and city government of Balanga will shoulder the hospital bill of indigent patients to be confined at the Centro Medico de Santisimo Rosario.
Governor Albert Raymond Garcia said this initiative is to support indigent residents who will need emergency medical services amid the closure of the out-patient department of the Bataan General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC) which is now exclusively for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases.
“Expenses at the hospital for indigent residents of Balanga City will be shouldered by the city government, while hospital bill of other residents in Bataan from other towns will be covered by the provincial government,” Garcia stated.
The governor stressed that the Centro Medico, a private partner hospital of BGHMC, will only cater to patients who shows no signs of COVID-19.
“The provincial government will provide rapid tests kits to Centro Medico to immediately identify if the incoming patient has COVID-19, in case that patient is not under the list of probable or suspected cases,” he added.
Registered social workers from the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office will be assigned to the hospital to assess patients who can be considered as an indigent person.