To provide better healthcare services for OFWs and their families the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) with the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) joined forces for the expansion of health services to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) through the OFW Hospital located in Pampanga.
DMW Secretary Susan Ople signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) on March 8, with Dr. Gerardo Legaspi, Director of PGH, for the operation and management of the OFW Hospital in City of San Fernando.
Through the partnership with UP-PGH , the OFW Hospital will soon be able to provide the gold standard in pre-employment medical service.
Ople emphasized the importance of having a healthy body and mind, especially for OFWs who are working in a foreign land and interacting with different kinds of people.
“The health of every migrant worker must never be compromised because decent work and human dignity and basic human rights include the right to life, and the right to a healthy future,” she added.
During the MOA signing, Ople noted that the DMW is the country’s first department for migrant workers, and the first department to have a hospital dedicated to Filipino migrant workers.The hospital will cater not only directly to the OFWs but to their children and families as well.
The OFW Hospital was established during the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte in May 2022 with a 102-bed capacity and a 7-story facility standing on a 1.5-hectare property.
The OFW Hospital opened with an outpatient clinic and started operation as an infirmary in July 2022. Last January, the DMW took over the operation from DOLE.
The hospital is now classified as a secondary-level medical facility.
As of February 28, Ople said the OFW Hospital has so far served 11,483 patients, while two OFWs have delivered their babies in the hospital.
She said the vision of the hospital is to be the “center of excellence” for the healthcare needs of OFWs and their dependents and the best workplace for healthcare professionals.
DMW plans to acquire Magnetic Resonance Imaging or MRI and digital mammography equipment for this year, as well as offering hemodialysis and expanded cardiology services. (PIA Gitnang Luzon)
