The new building of the Newborn Screening Continuity Clinic (NBSCC) formally opened its doors on May 28, 2024. The blessing and ribbon cutting was graced by DOH Undersecretary Dr. Maria Rosario Vergiere; DOH Ilocos Center for Health Development (CHD) Regional Director Dr. Paula Paz Sydiongco; and Medical Center Chief Dr. Maria Lourdes Otayza.
The Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (MMMHMC) was nominated as the host of the NBSCC to strengthen the National Comprehensive Newborn Screening System, particularly in the northern portion of the Ilocos Region. The NBSCC ensures the early treatment, management, and continuity of care of all babies confirmed to have the disorders screened in the program.
Adjacent to the MMMHMC Outpatient Department Building, the new NBSCC clinic is under the Department of Pediatrics and is headed by a pediatric neurologist, Dr. Judy Pipo-Deveza. The clinic is also manned by a full-time nurse, Thricia Bless Ventura, with the assistance of the MMMHMC nutritionist-dietitians, Hershey Angeles and Jennifer Balbuena, and the pediatric subspecialists. The prime duty of the NBSCC is to assist patients and their families by providing medications, metabolic food, laboratory work-ups, and other medical treatments.
The MMMHMC is also the host facility of the Newborn Screening Center – Northern Luzon (NSC-NL). Likewise, the NBSCC is strategically located in the same institution, which will provide long-term continuity care and comprehensive management of the patients. The new NBSCC caters to patients from the province of Ilocos Norte and the first district of Ilocos Sur. The proximity of the continuity clinic will be more favorable to the patients living in these areas of coverage, thus providing timely and optimal management of their disorders as well as optimizing their growth, development, and well-being.
Pipo-Deveza, JG
