Rep. Greg Gasataya said the Department of Health is supporting his initiative to establish a heart and kidney specialty center in Bacolod City.
In a consultation meeting held by the House Committee on Health for House Bill No. 2686 on Wednesday, October 13, the Bacolod representative said he was informed that the DOH is supporting his initiative.
House Bill No. 2686 seeking to establish a Bacolod-Negros Heart and Kidney Center, was initially filed by Gasataya as House Bill No. 7454 during his first term in the 17th Congress and was refiled as House Bill No. 2686 in 2019.
“I am thankful for the support of the Department of Health and the House Committee on Health. This goes hand in hand with the Republic Act we authored establishing the Bacolod City General Hospital and I am hopeful that with the two facilities there will be more Bacolodnon lives saved from the current financial and geographical constraints of quality healthcare,” Gasataya said.
“Cardiovascular and renal diseases remain among the top causes of death in our country. At least 276 Filipinos die of heart disease daily while more than 28,000 undergo regular dialysis because of kidney problems,” Gasataya said.
There are a lot of Bacolodnons and Negrosanons who go to his office in Metro Manila to seek medical assistance for their relatives who are either admitted or about to undergo procedures at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute and Philippine Heart Center, which require additional expenses for travel, lodging and miscellaneous needs, Gasataya said.
In Negros Occidental, there are only two government dialysis centers and only one tertiary government hospital that cater to patients in need of delicate cardiovascular and renal procedures, he said.*