Negros Oriental Gov. Manuel Sagarbarria will lead Thursday the groundbreaking for the PHP100 million two-story building to house the province’s new dialysis center with 60 new dialysis machines to cater to more patients suffering from kidney disease.

In a press briefing Wednesday, Sagarbarria said the facility is expected to be completed before the end of the year so that more kidney disease patients in the province can be treated.

The governor said the provincial government has received through pledges 60 dialysis machines from donors and is awaiting transfer to the new facility.

“There are only currently 10 dialysis machines at the Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital (NOPH) and at least 200 patients are on the list each day who cannot all be accommodated,” Sagarbarria said.

The governor said once operational the new facility can accommodate at least 180 patients daily as they have agreed to hold three shifts everyday.

The current dialysis machines will then be distributed to local government units that need them the most, he added.

Meanwhile, two other activities are also set on Thursday with the groundbreaking for the dialysis center building.

These are the ribbon-cutting for the new wing and the new diagnostics laboratory at the provincial hospital. The new hospital wing has 20 rooms and surgery rooms.

The diagnostics laboratory, meanwhile, will feature new blood chemistry machines that arrived on Wednesday after undergoing dry-run testing.

Sagarbarria said all these projects and innovations are part of his administration’s thrust to provide improved health care at almost no cost to indigent patients under the Universal Health Care system.

The governor, who assumed his post last June, will be giving his State of the Province address on Friday (Sept. 8) as he marks his 100th day in office. (PNA)