The cancer center of West Visayas State University Medical Center (WVSUMC) can now operate full-time with the addition of 52 staff complement.

WVSU president Dr. Joselito Villaruz, in an interview following his State of the University Address on Tuesday, said that at first, they were apprehensive the center would become a white elephant because they don’t have enough manpower.

“Just this morning, actually, it was a gift from the Lord that we already have a go signal for the 52 positions and we’re very happy. We will now be operating full-time and we now have the money to buy the brachytherapy to supplement the cancer treatments of patients, especially from Western Visayas,” Villaruz said.

Villaruz added that they do not want to compete with other cancer centers because they would like to complement other public hospitals in the region by catering to indigent patients.

“We have experts and laboratories to perform the tests,” he said.

Patients who want to avail of their services have to be enrolled with the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation to avail of the Z benefit package.

Meanwhile, in his address, Villaruz noted that the University Medical Center “emerged resiliently from the challenges posed by the pandemic.”

“We have successfully completed 18 major infrastructure projects, including the inauguration of our molecular laboratory, which significantly supported Covid-19 testing during the pandemic,” he said.

He also said they have a newly renovated operating room complex and expanded the renal care center with 20 hemodialysis machines, while their 15-story multi-specialty center is now 40 percent complete.

The facility’s annual patient capacity increased to 9,936 in 2024 from 6,468 in 2021, Villaruz said.

“We have also ramped up medical assistance for indigent patients by 7.64 percent, providing a total of PHP255 million in aid,” he added. (PNA)