NOTE: THIS STORY WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE BOHOL CHRONICLE SUNDAY PRINT EDITION.

Borja Family Hospital Corp. (BFHC) officially announced to the public its closure after sending a formal notice to the Department of Health (DOH) dated December 17, 2022.

The closure notice of Borja Family Hospital ended its 42 years of service to the Boholanos after the hospital was opened on August 1980 by couple-physicians Pepe and Melinda Regner-Borja.

BFHC Medical Director, Dr. Maria Melinda Borja Chiong said the closure was due to “operational and financial difficulties aggravated by intra-corporate disputes  and anomalies perpetuated by unscrupulous employees.”

Because of the situation, the hospital medical director said the hospital can no longer comply with the requirements necessary to renew its License to Operate starting January 2023.

OIC Regional Director Lilia A. Estillore of the Department of Health (DOH-7) said the closure and cessation of operations of the hospital is an “authorized cause for termination under Article 283 of the Labor Code.”

Dr. Chiong said the decision to close the 42-year old hospital was not to “circumvent any provisions of the law. In fact, the welfare of the employees is one of our primordial concerns.”

Out of the 160 hospital personnel, 60 have resigned, Dr. Chiong said.

The medical director assured that all wages and benefits, net of any authorized deductions will be taken care of by the management.

She said individual notices will be issued to inform them of the “matters at hand which will include among others the 30-day notice relative to their employment status which is in consonance with the law.”

The hospital, in fact, sought the assistance of DOH in informing their employees of the said closure which is a “gesture of a transparent and good governance in solving whatever matters there may be”.  (with reports from Rey Tutas)