Bicol AccessHealth Centrum unveils medical facility for OFWs, seafarers

By Ana-Liza S. Macatangay

The Bicol AccessHealth Centrum recently opened the first Department of Health (DOH)-accredited medical facility that will exclusively cater to overseas workers and seafarers.

The all-inclusive Pre-Employment Medical Examination (P.E.M.E.) facility is a one-stop-shop meant to provide its target clients with a dedicated healthcare hub for those fulfilling their overseas employment prerequisites. They can also have their annual physical examinations at the said facility.

“It’s a one-stop facility, in other words, the patients or the overseas workers aren’t mixed up with everyday patients. Once they go to the facility, it’s a facility that’s just totally dedicated to them. So the doctors don’t have any other patients to entertain except them,” Bicol Access Health Centrum President and CEO Dr. Napoleon K. Juanillo, Jr. said during the press conference held June 10, Saturday at the Bicol Access Health Centrum, here.

Pre-Employment Medical Examination (P.E.M.E.) Dental room (PIA 5/Camarines Sur)

The center also offers a wide range of services: drug testing and laboratory procedures, dental examination, panoramic X-ray, chest X-ray, psychological/psychiatric services, Electrocardiogram (ECG), optical services-visual acuity and Ishihara Test, audiometry, and physical examination.

Dr. Juanillo, who was recently appointed as the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Assistant Secretary stated that the P.E.M.E. facility also assures the confidentiality of its clients.

“There’s a separate information management system that’s basically put in the database, the information about the OFW patients only, so our staff doesn’t have to kind of look them up and see where they are in the seascape of many, many other patients so it’s a totally dedicated facility,” Juanillo added.

Bicol Access Medical Director Dr. Rosalita A. Prado said that the P.E.M.E. facility will benefit a lot of OFWs and seafarers in the Bicol region and those residing in the nearby provinces.

“If they do that in Manila, it would entail a lot of expense because [they] have to stay there; the lodging, the food, and everything. So here, it could be a lot of savings for [them],” Prado said.

The P.E.M.E. facility is managed by a team of highly-trained and friendly healthcare professionals who have received comprehensive training to ensure the delivery of exceptional service and assistance to their clients.

“Our nurses and medical staff at the AccessHealth P.E.M.E. are equipped with the necessary knowledge, skills, and competencies skills and knowledge combining compassionate care with the highest standards of ethics and professionalism,” Bicol Access Vice President for Finance Dr. Helen Arevalo-Juanillo stated.

For as low as P2,200.00, the client can already avail of the Basic DOH PEME package which includes the following tests; complete medical history and physical examination, optical examination (Jaegar’s and Ishihara Test), pure tone audiometry test (air conduction), stool examination (fecalysis), dental examination, chest x-ray, and 12-lead ECG.

Also included in the package are blood typing, Complete Blood Count (CBC), RPR/VDRL test, pregnancy test, urinalysis, and psychological assessment.

The P.E.M.E. is located on the 3rd Floor of the Pedro Olivan Medical Arts Building, Bicol AccessHealth Centrum. The facility is open from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM, from Mondays through Saturdays.

For inquiries, Bicol AccessHealth Centrum P.E.M.E. personnel can be reached at 0928-554-0398 or 0939-972-3138.