The emergency room (ER) of the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) in Bacolod City will be closed for renovation starting September 28.
The ER, which will be closed for about three to four months, is expected to reopen by January 2026, CLMMRH medical center chief Dr. Joan Cerrada said at a press conference on Wednesday, Sept. 17.
The renovation of the ER is necessary to improve and optimize space management, enhance the physical setup for a better patient and personnel experience, and improve work efficiency, Cerrada said.
The nearly P92 million renovation will be undertaken by Durabuild Construction.
A temporary emergency room with 18 beds will be established at the CLMMRH Outpatient Department waiting area, alongside four to five holding areas at the Mother and Child Building with 45 to 50 beds, Cerrada said.
Patient prioritization will follow the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale, she said.
Patients arriving directly at CLMMRH will undergo triage at the temporary ER. Critical and prioritized trauma cases will be admitted immediately if beds are available, she said.
Stable cases will be directed to partner private hospitals when CLMMRH’s capacity is exceeded, she added
CLMMRH entered into memorandums of agreement with all six private hospitals in Bacolod City on Wednesday, CLMMRH finance service chief Shareen Caelian said.
The six hospitals that have agreed to take in CLMMRH emergency room patients are the Dr. Pablo O. Torre Memorial Hospital (Riverside Medical Center Inc.), The Doctors’ Hospital, Bacolod Adventist Medical Center, South Bacolod General Hospital and Medical Center, Bacolod Queen of Mercy Hospital, and Metro Bacolod Hospital and Medical Center.
The CLMMRH Integrated Hospital Operations Monitoring System has developed a bed tracker system called the “ER Consortium Monitoring System” that will be used to match patients to available beds in CLMMRH or private hospitals, Cerrada said.
CLMMRH will cover the costs of the emergency room services for patients referred to private hospitals through the coordinated system, she said.
Patients brought to the emergency departments of private hospitals will be transferred back to CLMMRH for admission once stabilized and as soon as beds become available, she added.
CLMMRH will not pay for the cost of those who opt to be admitted to the private hospitals after being stabilized at their ERs, she said.
Cerrada stressed that CLMMRH will only pay for the private hospitals’ emergency room services for patients referred by CLMMRH.*