Close to 300 employees of the Department of Health (DOH) in Western Visayas will transition to working with the newly created Negros Island Region (NIR).

At least 296 of the agency's 1,696 employees in Western Visayas region have been assigned at DOH NIR. 

Thirteen employees have plantilla positions, 33 are under Contract of Service (COS), and 250 are on contractual work under the Human Resource for Health scheme. 

The 296 are from the Province of Negros Occidental.

“Right now, most of the staff members are already reporting in our office in Dumaguete. We are already doing some transactions there. We are hoping to complete the whole renovation by around February or March,” said DOH NIR Director, Dr. Razel Nikka Hao.

Aside from the main office in Barangay Piapi, Dumaguete City, the employees will also be assigned at the provincial and city DOH offices in Rosario Street, Bacolod City, provincial DOH office in Bantayan, Negros Oriental, and another DOH office in Barangay Poblacion, Siquijor town in the Province of Siquijor.

From November 2024, DOH Western Visayas and Central Visayas regions started the transition with the creation of the Negros Island Region. 

The DOH NIR will be located temporarily at the third floor of the Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital in Dumaguete City.

“We have to create our new protocols. Dito sa Negros Island, we’ve done our mapping and our assessment and meron na tina-target na facilities na ma-upgrade yung level. Kunwari from infirmary to level 1. Level 1 to level 2,” according to Dr. Hao. 

The agency has mulled on additional centers for treatment, rehabilitation, and mental health as soon as funds become available.