Archdiocese donates Covid-19 equipment and test kits to gov’t hospital, DOH

Pangasinan’s Roman Catholic Church has donated a medical equipment to help detect coronavirus among patients at a government hospital in Baguio City.

Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan said the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) unit is now functional at the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center.

“With this additional equipment, the BGHMC hopes to test additional 360 cases per day above their current output,” Villegas said.

In his letter of transmittal of the PCR equipment, he told BGHMC’s head Dr. Ricardo Runez that the archdiocese is grateful for the hospital’s willingness to collaborate.

“In accepting our offer, you have affirmed our chosen approach to this pandemic, which is to be more discerning and imaginative in facing this unprecedented health problem facing humanity,” the letter reads.

“It is this same discernment and imagination that we will use to solve this pandemic by God’s grace,” it added.

When the pandemic is over, Villegas said that the PCR will be donated to a hospital in Dagupan City “so that the poor and the sick may have better access to health facilities”.

Aside from the PCR, the archdiocese also donated Covid-19 testing kits to the Department of Health “to help in stemming the tide of this pandemic”.

The initiative is a collaborative effort of all the priests in the “spirit of stewardship” which is called “Pananabangan” in the archdiocese.

The archbishop also said that even before the donation, the priests have been “quietly” offering Masses, sacrifices and prayers for their parishioners.

“They continue tirelessly to go to the barangays with no internet access to offer the Church’s absolution and pardon for sins,” said Villegas.

“The food bags and hygiene kits coming from various unknown donors literally come flowing,” he said.