The Batac Emergency Hospital, now Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center was established by virtue of House Bill 1393 authored by then Congressman of the 2nd District of Ilocos Norte, Honorable Simeon M. Valdez. It was inaugurated on February 18, 1968 and it was opened to the public with a 25 bed capacity. Since there was only one government hospital to cater to the needs of the people, the expansion was made through Republic Act 5191 converting Batac Emergency Hospital into a General Hospital with a 50-bed capacity.
The tremendous influx of patients coming for consultation and treatment, another Bill was passed in Congress which was later approved into law as Republic Act No. 6188 which increased the bed capacity from 50 to 100 beds. By virtue of RA 6229 issued on June 19, 1971, it was renamed to Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital in honor of the father of the late President Ferdinand Marcos.
In 1973, it was designated by the Ministry of Health as a Regional Hospital. In 1974, it was upgraded to 200 bed capacity hospital hence in 1975, a six storey main building was constructed with funds from the national government and partly from the Marcos Foundation.
On March 17, 1975, a six storey main building was constructed with P 12 million appropriation, coming from the National Government and partly from the Marcos Foundation. Dr. Juanito A. Rubio, then head of the OB- Gyne Department at the Ilocos Norte Provincial Hospital took over as Officer-In-Charge on June 21, 1980. By virtue of Administrative Order No. 122 s. 1981, Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital was designated as a Medical Center. Dr. Agbayani was recalled back to duty by then President Ferdinand Marcos in order to let him prepare the framework of this hospital as a Regional Medical Center.
In 1981, by virtue of Administrative Order No. 122, it was designated as a Medical Center. In 1985, due to change in political administration, it was renamed as Batac General Hospital. Despite this, the hospital continued to thrive and serve its constituents. Through the initiative and leadership of then Congressman Mariano Nalupta Jr. of the 2nd district of Ilocos Norte, the hospital regained its name Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital & Medical Center.
On March 16, 1986, Dr. Agbayani resigned and Dr. Quintina D. Duque was designated as Officer-In-Charge through Ministry Order No. 5-c s., 1986 signed by the Secretary of Health Alfredo R. A. Bengzon. Her designation as Officer-In-Charge ended on Novenber 30, 1986 with the appointment of Dr. Domingo G. Samonte Jr. With Dr. Samonte’s compulsory retirement on October 11, 1991, Dr. Reuben F. Salvador, Medical Specialist III and Chief of Hospital was designated as Officer-In-Charge on October 12, 1991. He was appointed as Chief of Hospital III on January 3, 1992.
In 1991 under the leadership of Dr. Reuben Salvador, the Ophthalmology, Departments of Ophthalmology, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Pediatrics and 1997-1998 were accredited for residency training by their respective Specialty Boards. Services were now departmentalized. Dialysis unit was already established to respond to the needs of the less fortunate nephrology patients who could not afford to go to Manila for treatment.
In 1994, some national and regional hospitals were devolved to the local government units. Fortunately, MMMH & MC was one of the DOH retained hospitals. With the retirement of Dr. Salvador, Dr. Mary Lu B. Magno, the Chief of Medical Professional Staff was designated as Officer-In-Charge.
In 2002, Dr. Ma. Lourdes K. Otayza came in as the Chief of hospital. She further pushed for the improvement and accreditation of other departments. She invited subspecialists to practice in this institution as well as acquired state-of-the-art equipments needed by the subspecialists like endoscopy, laser for ophthalmology, apheresis and the establishment of the sleep laboratory. Career pathing of employees was implemented hence hospital employees were sent for training in other institutions and specialty hospitals in Manila like dialysis nurses in National Kidney Institute, trauma nursing in University of the Philippines Philippine General Hospital, Intensive care nursing at the Lung Center of the Philippines. Continuous Medical, Nursing and Administrative staff updates are done through postgraduate courses and workshops/trainings. Construction and renovations of additional buildings kept going on to date such as the Out-Patient Department complex, Pharmacy, ER complex, and continuous upgrading of hospital facilities. MMMH&MC is the only Medical Center in Northern Luzon which caters to the provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur (north of Candon City including Vigan), Abra, Northtern Cagayan and Kalinga Apayao.
The hospital is a 200 bed capacity, tertiary level teaching and training hospital capable of specialized and sub-specialized forms of treatment, surgical procedures and intensive care. Six residency training programs are currently accredited by their specialty boards namely the Pediatrics Department, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ophthalmology, Head and Neck Surgery and Otorhinolaryngology, Anesthesia, Pathology and Internal Medicine. The Medical and Paramedical schools are affiliated for rotations and postgraduate trainings in the clinical departments and internship for Pharmacists, Physical Therapists and Medical Technologists. Nursing affiliates come from colleges and universities in Ilocos Norte and nearby provinces like Isabela, La Union , Benguet, Ilocos Sur. Residents in OB & Gyne Department of the Cardinal Santos Medical Center and Mary Johnston Hospital as well as ENT resident physicians of Ospital ng Maynila and Manila Doctors Hospital have their rotation in this institution during their 1st and 3rd years of training.
The hospital is the only one in Northern Luzon that uses HOMIS ( Hospital Operations and Management Information System), PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) and HCLab (Hyperconnectivity Laboratory) as such, MMMH&MC has garnered one of the most outstanding HOMIS implementers among DOH retained hospitals during the 5th Annual Conference on HOMIS in November 2012 at Naga City given by NCHFD-DOH. Through the years, the Department of Pathology and Laboratories has increasingly enhanced, updated and improved its services. As to quality assessment program, aside from Internal Quality Assurance monitoring, our hospital Laboratory has achieved exemplary performance in the 2012 National External Quality Assessment scheme given by the different national reference laboratories and as mandated by the Department of Health. MMMH&MC is also a Confirmatory Testing Center for G6PD deficiency. It is also designated as one of the lead blood centers in Region I and sentinel site for anti-microbial resistance surveillance program of the DOH.
Our new pharmacy building has the largest warehouse in hospital settings for drug distribution licensed as a wholesaler as well as drug distributor. Aside from this, MMMH&MC is the first government hospital in Northern Luzon to practice Clinical Pharmacy and Oncology Pharmacy with our Pharmacists trained at St. Luke’s Medical Center.
Major awards garnered by MMMH&MC
1. Winner of the first national award in Good governance in Medicines for having the best practices, structures in medicine selection, procurement,management, and finance.
2. Two-time Red Orchid awardee 2011 & 2012 – implementor of a 100% smoke-free environment.
3. Mother and Baby Friendly Initiative Awardee 2012- implementor of the 10 steps to successful breastfeeding
This is the only Medical Center up in Northern Luzon, about 200 kilometers north of the Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center (ITRMC) in San Fernando City, La Union and 470 kilometers north of Manila. It caters to the health needs of a wide area of Northern Luzon specifically to include the following provinces Ilocos Norte (Including Laoag City), Ilocos Sur (Municipalities North of Candon City including Vigan City, Northern Cagayan, Abra and Apayao.
Kalinga-Nearby town of these two provinces which find Batac more accessible than Tuguegarao and Cagayan
At present, the hospital is a 200 bed capacity tertiary level 2 teaching and training hospital that provides clinical care and management on the prevalent diseases in the locality, as well as specialized and sub-specialized forms of treatment, surgical procedure and intensive care.
DOH Designated as a Blood Bank Center for Region I and Upper Cagayan in 1999. Launched as a Center of Wellness with emphasis on people’s participation on May 5, 1994.
Six residency training programs are accredited by their respective specialty boards namely the Departments of Pediatrics (1997), Obstetrics and Gynecology (2012), Ophthalmology (1992), Pathology (1997), ENT (2010), Internal Medicine (2011) and Anesthesia (2011).
Medical and paramedical schools are affiliated for post-graduate training/rotations in the different departments.
In order to achieve its vision, which is to be the center of excellence in healthcare, training and research, the hospital is geared toward the establishment of Quality Management System certifiable to the ISO 9001:2008 standards, as one of the important tools in implementing its goals and objectives.