On March 12, 2025, Department of Health (DOH) officials, including Directors from the Center for Health Development (CHD) of the National Capital Region, CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, and Bicol Region, visited the Jose B. Lingad Memorial General Hospital (JBLMGH) and its Ambulatory Surgical and Multispecialty Center (JASMC) located in Sto. Tomas, Pampanga. The delegation also toured the center’s newly established BUCAS (Bungang Ulat Care and Service) Unit to observe its operations and learn from its best practices.

JBLMGH Medical Center Chief Dr. Monserrat S. Chichioco, along with JASMC-BUCAS Head Dr. Emerita Danac and Administrative Manager Dr. Yasmin Barrameda, guided the visitors through the state-of-the-art facilities.

The purpose of the visit was to review the JASMC-BUCAS center’s operational efficiency and see how other CHDs and DOH hospitals could integrate similar systems and strategies to improve their own BUCAS units.

In a related event, on March 6, during JASMC-BUCAS’ first anniversary celebration, Undersecretary of Health Achilles Gerard Bravo revealed plans to designate the center as the model facility for BUCAS units nationwide.

Notably, JASMC-BUCAS holds the distinction of being the first and largest BUCAS center in the country, currently the only one offering CT scan services.