City to ink MOA with NMMC for BEmoNC program

Through Ordinance No. 14468, the 20th City Council during its regular session presided over by Vice Mayor Jocelyn B. Rodriguez authorized City Mayor Rolando A. Uy to enter into and sign the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC). This covers the implementation of the Basic Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (BEmoNC) training program for health care providers and staff of the City Health Office.

The Gavel learned that the training program aims to improve the knowledge and skills of the health care staff in providing high-quality maternal and neonatal health care services.

In his letter to the City Council, Mayor Uy said the program is in light of the urgent need to focus on preventing maternal deaths in the city by providing expectant mothers with easy access to emergency obstetric and newborn care services as well as to encourage them to give birth in strategically located facilities within the city, which are suitably equipped to render BEmoNC.

Under the MOA, the NMMC shall provide the necessary facilities, equipment and personnel to ensure the effective implementation of the requirements as the training center; provide competent, capable and licensed trainers. The NMMC shall likewise ensure that the training program will be successfully completed within 11 days and that there is a maximum of 12 personnel for every training conducted.

For its part, the city shall identify and select healthcare providers to participate in the BEmoNC training program; coordinate with the training provider and schedule the BEmoNC training sessions. The city government shall also identify, enroll and register with NMMC all health care providers and staff in need of the necessary training as envisioned within the provisions of the agreement.

The ordinance was sponsored by the committees on health, nutrition, and health insurance and on laws and rules chaired by Councilors Maria Lourdes S. Gaane and Ian Mark Q. Nacaya, respectively.