Mayor Maria Lourdes Lacson bared her plans for the health sector of Magalang, focusing on the promotion of health and prevention of illnesses.
“What we will do here is we will align our programs with the Universal Health Care Law. This is a good guideline for every local government unit [LGU] because it is more on preventive healthcare and also on the promotion of health…and if people get sick, we have the right referral system and facilities so that people know where to go,” she said.
As part of this, the mayor said the LGU will start profiling Magaleños to assess their healthcare needs, as well as the healthcare provision capacity of the municipal government.
“We will base all our actions on plans, database, and collected information from the residents to ensure that our resources are not wasted,” Lacson said.
The local chief executive added they are in close coordination with the district and regional hospitals as the referral hospitals that people go to when they are sick, as this also somehow a way to unburden their families of additional medical expenses.
The LGU will also provide maintenance medicines monthly for Magaleños to ensure that those needing these do not miss a single dose to prevent sudden heart attack, cardiac arrest, and other complications.
Aside from this, Magalang town is preparing health workers at the barangay level to undergo basic life support and advanced cardiac life support so they can readily respond to emergencies in their locality and prevent the patient’s condition from getting worse.
Lacson added that the municipal government will also provide ambulances to all its villages for faster transport of patients; as well as continue with other regular health programs such as immunization of babies 0-5 years old, maternal health care programs, and anti-rabies, among others.
In terms of Covid-19 vaccination, the mayor said they will conduct house-to-house visits to encourage unwilling residents to avail of the vaccines to protect them from the virus.
“For the booster shots, we push the demands. We go to schools and private companies in order to have a wider coverage of residents who are vaccinated,” she said.
The mayor ensured that health programs and services are provided to Magaleños to address health emergencies, maintain good health, and prevent illnesses. (CLJD/MJSC-PIA 3 with Jewel Umali, intern)