Amid efforts to improve the quality of life for Bataeños in the face of current environmental threats affecting Bataan province, a hospital in one of its municipalities has also been enhancing the quality of life in the community, only this time, by addressing one of the top health issues in the county.
During a public revalida with the Institute for Solidarity in Asia (ISA) on August 23, the Mariveles Mental Wellness and General Hospital (MMWGH) earned the Gold Trailblazer Award and achieved Compliant Status under ISA’s Performance Governance System (PGS) for its commitment to advancing mental health services in the region.
The Public Revalida is a democratic exercise that validates a public institution’s completion of the four stages of the PGS. Enrolled institutions include the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Department of Health (DOH), among others.
MMWGH Medical Center Chief Dr. Dennis Dayao Ordoña highlighted the hospital’s progress to the second stage of the governance pathway in his presentation, underscoring MMWGH’s strategic position of becoming “a paradigm of progress in mental health with a fully functional general hospital for Central and Northern Luzon by 2028.”
Mandated by the DOH to establish an advanced comprehensive center for mental health serving Northern and Central Luzon, the hospital crafted a strategic roadmap aligned with the DOH’s 8-Point Agenda, which has led to several significant breakthroughs, including the transition from a custodial care facility for psychiatry to a licensed Level I General Hospital with a 21-bed capacity. The hospital has also achieved recognition as an advanced comprehensive center for mental health, boasting a 98.33% functionality score according to the April 2024 Health Facility Development Bureau ratings.
The hospital’s Advanced Comprehensive Center for Mental Health Care has also achieved a three-year program accreditation for Psychiatry and Public Mental Health Residency Training under the Philippine Psychiatric Association, becoming the only institution with the full three-year accreditation.
“This year, we reached a milestone with our first graduates of the said residency program. Dr. Sarah Rivera and Dr. Ruby Reyes now serve as active consultants of the department,” Dr. Ordoña said.
Since its PGS Initiation in 2020 amid the pandemic, MMWGH has significantly improved its resident-to-patient ratio, achieving an 87.88% increase. From a low ratio of 1:198 in 2019, the hospital has significantly improved this to 1:24.
“This creates a cycle of improvement in terms of quality mental health care service in the organization,” Dr. Ordoña added.
MMWGH has also made strides in combating mental health stigma in the community. In 2023, the hospital received accreditation as an E-Konsulta Provider, and the following year, PhilHealth awarded it with accreditation for the second Outpatient Mental Health Package in the country, serving Bataeños struggling with various mental health conditions. MMWGH’s Multi-Sector Governance Council also facilitated the registration of up to 10,000 factory workers for the PhilHealth e-Konsulta Package.
“We have collaborated with our partner in the Freeport Area of Bataan, where 33% of our registered clients are from the factories in the area,” Dr. Ordoña said. “We are also the second institution in the whole country to be accredited to provide the specialized mental health care package, reaching out to around 7,800 patients, mostly in Central and Northern Luzon.”
The panel, chaired by Dr. Glory V. Baltazar, Medical Center Chief II of the Bataan General Hospital and Medical Center, recognized all of the medical center’s remarkable achievements. Dr. Baltazar also commended Dr. Ordoña for his swift mastery of the organization’s PGS journey, despite having been appointed as the hospital’s Medical Center Chief only earlier in 2024 and “yet he was able to get the grasp of the whole of it.”
In his acceptance speech, Dr. Ordoña expressed gratitude to the men and women at the MMWGH and encouraged the team to continue their current trajectory with renewed momentum.
“Thank you to ISA and the panelists for giving us the opportunity to share who we are and validate all our efforts while we have given our all. And of course, to the MMWGH family, continue to be who we are. Now is the time to accelerate as we know right now that we are on the right track,” he said.
