President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday led the inauguration of an intermediate health facility that aims to provide urgent care services to Filipinos throughout the week.

“So today, as we open the doors [to] Bagong Urgent Care and Ambulatory Service Center or BUCAS, we are not just inaugurating a new building. We are transforming how we handle critical moments when time is both our greatest enemy and our most valuable ally,” the President said in his speech at the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City.

The BUCAS Center aims to bridge the gap between primary care facilities, such as rural health units or city health centers, and higher-level health institutions or hospitals by providing urgent health care services for minor surgeries and other ancillary services.

“This ensures that focus shall be given to patients needing special care, while still providing proper medical services for those with less complicated cases,” President Marcos said, adding the services will be provided throughout the week, including weekends.

The President noted that there are 31 BUCAS Centers nationwide as of September 2024.

“For these are more than just about the number of centers, or the amount of funding. It is about replacing uncertainty and worry with a sense of reassurance that help is close by. It is about the lives that we change and the hope that we restore,” President Marcos said.

The network of care, the Chief Executive noted, assures every Filipino—whether in the heart of the city or the most remote province—that they are seen, valued, and cared for.

The BUCAS Center is part of the Department of Health (DOH)’s Modernization for Health Equity and “28 for 28 by 28” initiative, which targets the building of 28 primary health facilities for 28 million Filipinos who are most in need of quality and accessible healthcare services by 2028.

The PHC is one of the first government specialty hospitals to establish its own BUCAS Center within its premises. PND