The Department of Health (DOH) presented the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) Command Center in Cebu City, the first of its Visayas hospitals to be fully equipped to respond to health emergencies and disasters.
The DOH operates the VSMMC Command Center, which has 1,500 beds and serves as the province's multi-specialty academic medical center and healthcare provider network.
Along with its safety and security, which includes a "war room" for quick decision-making, it also features the Central Visayas Electronic Health Referral System (CVeHRS), daily bed utilization, patient tracking, and electronic health record system monitoring at the Medical Center.
Enhancing health and disaster management
The VSMMC Command Center is the first hospital in Visayas of its kind, according to DOH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa.
“Today marks a significant milestone in our commitment to enhancing emergency and disaster management in the Visayas Region. The inauguration of the command center at VSMMC represents a crucial step towards ensuring swift and coordinated responses to health crises," he remarked during the facility inauguration ceremony.
All-around facility
In order to respond to local emergencies, VSMMC has a monitoring system that includes a live closed-circuit television feed, real-time data surveillance, and live weather updates from the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.
Additionally, it monitors seismological activity and observations from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
"This milestone is an embodiment of the Department’s 8-Point Action Agenda, particularly the fourth action agenda – Handa sa Krisis (Ready for Crises)," Herbosa noted.
"This facility will serve as a beacon of resilience and preparedness in times of need," he added
