New Super Health Center Opens in La Union, Aims to Serve Seven Villages

San Fernando City, La Union — Residents from seven villages in the eighth district of San Fernando City began accessing services at the new Super Health Center in the mountainous village of Sibuan-Otong, which opened its doors on Tuesday.

According to Philippines News Agency, the center aims to handle up to 100 patients daily during weekday operations from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The facility primarily serves the catchment area of district eight, including the villages of Sagayad, Narra Oeste, Narra Este, Tanquigan, Birunget, Sibuan-Otong, and Bungro. Diaz highlighted that the center will help alleviate the patient load at the existing lying-in clinic in Sibuan-Otong and enhance access to medical services for residents. The nearest town center, San Fernando, is approximately 16 kilometers away, with residents commonly relying on tricycles for transport due to limited jeepney schedules.

San Fernando City operates two other health centers and two lying-in clinics to serve its 59 villages, each of which also has its own health station. The Department of Health leads the construction of Super Health Centers, with each facility costing between PHP 10 million and PHP 15 million, funded through the office of Senator Christopher Lawrence Go. These centers are part of an initiative to extend primary healthcare access in rural areas, especially critical with the implementation of the Universal Health Care Law.

The Super Health Center provides a range of services, including outpatient clinics and consultations, pharmacy and dispensary services, primary clinical laboratories, clinical microscopy, microbiology/parasitology, radiology, birthing and lying-in services, and tuberculosis consultations with direct sputum smear processing and microscopy capabilities.

Nationwide, there are over 600 super health centers, with 307 constructed in 2022 and an additional 322 in the following year.