Out-Patient Department:

OPD clinic is every Tuesday and Thursday from 10am - 12nn and 1pm - 5pm at the OPD Building and is manned by 3 fellows. The set-up is such that the senior fellow can see and directly supervise the activity of the junior fellow/rotator while attending to another patient. Problematic cases are discussed during the weekly Friday conference with Dr. Zenaida Antonio.

Fellows and rotators are on call at the ER to see all pediatric patients referred by the ER Officer, or by house staff/practicing pediatrician or those with medical insurance. Disposition of consult depends on the assessment of Fellow.

Admissions:

Admissions in the service ward are limited to renal cases only while all pediatric cases can be admitted in the pay ward, except contagious diseases (Varicella, Rubella, Rubeola, Tuberculosis and Typhoid Fever). The service ward is presently located at Unit 2E, rooms 2098 contains three (3) beds and 2102, a one-bed isolation room.

Dialysis:

The Department is providing dialysis as one of the renal replacement therapies for ESRD patients. These can be in the form of peritoneal or hemodialysis. For the peritoneal dialysis, patients are offered Chronic Intermittent Peritoneal Dialysis (CIPD) or Chronic Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD) depending on the need and financial capabilities of the patient. Hemodialysis patients are scheduled in our Hemo Unit which is equipped with more than 12 state-of-the-art machines and ably staffed by highly competent nurses and technicians.

Transplantation:

Kidney transplants are being promoted as the optimal treatment for ESRD and CRF pediatric patients. These patients undergo pre-KT work-up with their donors for at least a month before they are cleared for the transplant.

The Department is promoting pre-emptive kidney transplant, i.e., to transplant the patient before frank ESRD thereby doing away with dialysis.

Biopsy:

The Department performs Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Renal Biopsy if indicated. It has an active biopsy schedule averaging 10-15 biopsies a month. The patient is admitted only for 2 days barring complications.

Batong-Bulilit School (BBS)

Recognizing the tendency of kidney disease among children to become chronic, the Department conceived of the novel idea to provide unstructured education to its patient population. The idea gave birth in 1994 from the head of the Department, Dr. Myrna B. Rosel, and was realized in June 1996. Children who stay in the hospital for weeks with various health problems, the large out-patient clientele as well as dialysis patients are all welcome to this school. Through volunteer teachers, the school offers individualized instructions on the basic 3 R's ( reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic) as well as art lessons.

The school itself is a one-room affair but it offers endless possibilities to the fertile minds of children. In this school, they forget their inadequacies as they are sometimes treated to storytelling hour, VHS kiddie tapes, dramatizations, as well as re-enactment of their ailments, turning their aches and pains to joy and laughter. As a result, the children need no prodding to come to the hospital or to the OPD clinic. They always look forward to their clinic visits as a chance to socialize, play and learn at BBS.

In September 1999, the BBS won the prestigious PAG-ASA Award from the Civil Service Commission, recognizing its merits and novel idea to ease the pain of children with kidney disease.