PhilHealth lauds Tabaco City for Mother and Child Klinik

UNDER the leadership of Mayor Krisel Lagman-Luistro, the Mother and Child Klinik at Barangay San Antonio in Tabaco City was established and inaugurated on March 11, 2012. This health care facility aims to professionalize maternal and child care services, and make these accessible and available to the residents of the 14 upland barangays of Tabaco City.
In her speech, Luistro said that the Klinik is a dream come true, she being a mother, nurse and a strong advocate of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It was Tabaco City’s response to the localization of the achievement of the MDGs, particularly Goal 4 which aims to reduce child mortality and Goal 5 which aims to improve maternal health.
"With the services of the Klinik available 24/7, no more pregnant mothers will deliver their babies at home. Mothers and their newborns are guaranteed of the quality of health care services they will receive in this center. We are not only pro-life but we are pro-quality of life," said Luistro.
The Klinik, which caters to residents in the upland barangays, offers services such as physical examination, pre-natal and post-natal care, center-based delivery, new born care, immunization services, nutrition services, treatment and care of communicable and non-communicable diseases, family planning, medico-legal, laboratory (hemoglobin, blood typing, urinalysis, fecalysis, sputum test, blood sugar test), emergency room and ambulance services.
Once the accreditation of the new facility is approved, PhilHealth members can avail themselves of benefit packages from the Mother and Child Klinik such as the Normal Spontaneous Delivery Package at P8,000 inclusive of the pre-natal benefit amounting to P1,500 and may be availed of up to the 4th normal delivery; Newborn Care Package at P1,750, Bilateral Tubal Ligation (BTL) Package at P4,000 and Vasectomy Package at P4,000.
In his message during the inauguration ceremony, PhilHealth Regional Vice President Orlando D. Iñigo, Jr. thanked the City Government of Tabaco and Rep. Edcel Lagman for the consistent implementation of the Sponsored Program. The enrollment of the LGU and the sponsorship of Rep. Lagman is instrumental in the coverage of 176,000 indigents in the Province of Albay that are not included in the National Household Targeting System (NHTS).
Inigo also lauded the support of Luistro and the City Government of Tabaco as they deliver projects to sustain the health care programs of the government. “This clinic is a symbol of life. This Klinik shows how your government values the quality of life,” he said.
Dr. Perchito Avelino, Department of Health – Center for Health Development V’s Assistant Regional Director, confidently declared that the Mother and Child Klinik is a state-of-the-art facility that every Tabakeño must be proud of. “The birth (of the Klinik) does not end here, take pride in this, and always have the excitement to sustain the goal of this initiative. Sustain the operation of this facility, deem it as your own, and certainly there will be no delays in the delivery of the services that each of you is entitled to.”
Meanwhile, Dulce Saret of the UN Millennium Development Campaign, added that the Mother and Child Klinik at San Antonio is comparable to health centers that are categorized a notch higher than a primary health care facility. She also acknowledged the continuous support given by Luistro in the achievement of the MDGs in the City.
The Mother and Child Klinik at Barangay San Antonio is only the first of three health centers that will be serving the communities in the outskirts of the city. Soon, the Klinik at San Miguel Island, meant to provide health care services to residents in the island barangay, will open. The Mother and Child Klinik’s construction was funded by the Priority Development Assistance Fund of Rep. Lagman, the local health funds of the city and the PhilHealth Capitation Fund. (END)