Luis Hora Memorial Regional Hospital, currently the lone regional hospital in the Cordillera region, located at Abatan, Bauko, Mountain Province will soon be equipped with an operative molecular laboratory after the Department of Health granted the medical center its license to operate as Covid-19 testing center for Mountain Province and its neighboring provinces. This means that soon, the specimens collected in the province will no longer be transported to Baguio City or elsewhere for testing services after the health department issued the hospital its license to operate effective February 4, 2021 and will be valid until December 31, 2021.
Such was a product of concerted efforts between the Office of Representative Maximo Y. Dalog and the hospital administration under the direction of Dr. Eduardo Calpito, Chief of Hospital from the time the request was made until the issuance of the license.
Since the spread of Corona virus in the country, the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center in Baguio City had been the sub-national RT-PCR testing center of the Cordillera including Ilocos and Cagayan Valley. The city, which is currently the nearest PCR testing center to Mountain Province is several kilometers away or approximately five (5) to six (6) hours travel from the capital town and seven (7) to eight (8) hours from the eastern municipalities of Barlig, Natonin and Paracelis.
Last year, Dalog and Calpito led the inauguration rites of the molecular laboratory and blessing of a new real time RT-PCR machine.
Dalog said the provision of the molecular laboratory and license to operate for LHMRH is very timely as this will help decongest the Covid-19 testing center at the BGHMC and more importantly because of the growing number of Covid-19 cases in Mountain Province. He also thanked the hospital work force led by Dr. Caplito for their untiring effort in the realization of the molecular laboratory and its license. **Erlindo Agwilang, Jr.
