Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) Infectious Disease specialist Dr. Marie Yvette Bares bared on Saturday that the SPMC Adult Infectious Diseases and Research Institute building is expected to be operational next year.
Bares told Edge Davao that the five-story building located near SPMC is now about 80% to 90% completed.
“Hopefully next year will be operational,” she said.
Bares said through the support of Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go who pushed for the funding, the building will soon cater to emerging and reemerging infectious diseases.
“I am so thankful that we are given this chance because we will be starting our training programs of infectious diseases because we all know the top 10 diseases of morbidity and mortality apil pirmi ang infection,” she said.
Bares said more infectious disease specialists will be trained to treat infectious diseases.
“If we can train more infectious diseases specialists in Mindanao who can treat and prevent the death if not the morbidity, but at least lessen the deaths and infections not only in Davao but in Mindanao as well,” she said.
Bares said the construction of the building was conceptualized due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“But hopefully, we will not experience it again in this lifetime but we have to be prepared,” Bares said.
On March 15, 2020, the Department of Health-Davao (DOH-Davao) reported the first case of Covid-19 in the Davao Region, a 21-year-old woman from Pantukan, Davao de Oro, who had previously been to Manila and the United Kingdom. After being examined for a cough on February 29, the patient landed in Davao City and was admitted to a medical institution in isolation on March 9. The patient was sent to the Davao Regional Medical Center in Tagum the next day.
Starting March 31, 2020, SPMC has received certification from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) to perform Covid-19 confirmatory tests independently.
Additionally, the SPMC has been designated as a Covid-19 dedicated health facility to assist private hospitals in the area, allowing them to continue accommodating patients with non-Covid-19 issues.
