The Department of Health (DOH) is bringing essential health services closer to Negrenses with the opening of the first mall-based wellness clinic in the Visayas at SM City Bacolod, Tuesday afternoon, July 8.
The healthcare facility, which occupies a 52-square meter space within the Government Service Express Center at the third floor of the mall’s north wing, offers for free comprehensive services such as general and obstetrics and gynecology consultations, preventive and wellness promotion activities, and teleconsulting.
Aside from a consultation room, it also has a mental health area and a kids’ corner.
DOH-Negros Island Region Director Razel Nikka Hao said the wellness center is being managed by the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH), the DOH apex hospital in the region.
“For now, we’re still looking at an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule, but we will adjust. We have to see first the type of consultations that come in. If we see more patients at night, we will adjust the hours,” Hao said.
She said medical specialists from CLMMRH are assigned at the wellness clinic during specific hours, while DOH healthcare workers are in-charge of the general screening and nutrition services with assistance from students of various nursing schools in Bacolod.
“This is more than just a physical space. It is a shift in how we do public health. From reactive to preventive, from illness to wellness. We bring primary care where people are — in a mall, in a space that is accessible, familiar, and frequented,” she added.
The launching of the wellness hub was led by Health Undersecretary Mary Ann Maestral, Mayor Greg Gasataya, CLMMRH chief Dr. Joan Cerrada, and SM City Bacolod public relations manager May Castro.
“This clinic is the second of its kind in the Philippines and we are proud to say that it now stands as a model of innovation and collaboration,” Maestral said.
The first DOH wellness hub in a mall is located at SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City.
“We will pattern this wellness clinic according to the needs of the people of Bacolod and Negros Occidental. Together, we are breaking barriers between healthcare and the people we serve,” she added.
Castro said it is a privilege and an honor for SM City Bacolod to host the DOH wellness clinic.
“At SM, we believe that health is a basic right. This is why we continue to open our spaces to initiatives like the DOH Wellness Clinic because when we bring healthcare closer to where people already are, we break down the barriers that often prevent them from seeking help,” Castro said. PNA