Mindaantoday.com | Drug rehab facility in Oro almost at full capacity
By: Franck Dick Rosete
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The Treatment and Rehabilitation Center (TRC) of the Department of Health-10 (DOH-10) situated in upper Barangay Puerto, this city, is almost fully occupied as the facility resumed accepting clients who need to undergo treatment because of illegal drug addiction.
As of the latest, the said 200-bed capacity DOH-TRC in Cagayan de Oro has currently 90 residential male clients who have been diagnosed with severe substance use disorder, said Erwin Rommel Lingad, DOH-TRC 10 health education promotion officer-designate, in a phone interview on Friday, November 25.
Lingad considered the facility as almost fully occupied with the said figure as the DOH region 10 still implemented the 50 percent capacity requirement of the said facility.
“Though our facility has 200 beds, it can be considered as full as the DOH still did not lift the mandate or the guidelines that 50 percent of the occupancy,” Lingad said in vernacular.
“They are in the dormitory so the dormitory should not be fully occupied (100 percent). It should be half from the total capacity,” he added.
Apart from the 90 residential clients in the said facility, the DOH-TRC in this city also caters more or less 200 outpatient clients – composed of male and female individuals who have been diagnosed with moderate substance use disorder.
It can be recalled that the DOH-TRC in Cagayan de Oro hadn’t accepted clients in 2020 and 2021 because of the restrictions implemented due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lingad said they are currently catering a lot of clients as many persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) have availed the plea bargain agreements, which the mandatory drug rehabilitation program is part of.
Aside from the rehabilitation center in Cagayan de Oro, there is also another DOH-TRC in the region situated in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon, with 500-bed capacity.
According to the protocol, PDLs who have low and moderate risk assessment after the screening will be returned to the community for the community-based rehabilitation program (CBRP) in their respective local government units (LGUs).
However, for PDLs who have high risk assessment after the screening, they will be referred to a DOH-accredited physician who will provide diagnosis either mild, moderate or severe.
The PDLs who will be diagnosed with mild substance use disorder will still be returned to the community but with more intensified CBRP. For PDLs with moderate cases, they will be outpatient clients to the DOH-TRC, and the severe cases will be placed as residential clients in the facility.
The DOH has doubled its effort to increase the public awareness on the harmful effects of psychoactive substances that are commonly abused in the country and to encourage public support on the various drug demand reduction activities and programs of the government.
Pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No. 124, dated November 26, 2001, the third week of November has been declared as Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Week to promote public awareness against the evil effects of illegal drug use as well as encourage public cooperation in the anti-drug campaign. (MT)
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