The Department of Health (DoH) has upgraded the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) Hospital to a Level 2 facility, a move officials say will significantly expand medical services for migrant workers and their families.

The new classification allows the hospital to increase its capacity from 50 to 72 beds and operate a Type 2 ambulance. As a Level 2 facility, the hospital is now authorized to provide specialized care, including intensive care, neonatal intensive care, and expanded surgical and diagnostic services.

Dr. Patrick Louie Maglaya, the hospital’s interim medical center chief, said the upgrade marks a shift from the facility’s previous status as a Level 1 infirmary, which focused primarily on basic healthcare.

“Level 1 often has no ICU and limited services,” Maglaya said. “Now that the OFW Hospital has been raised to Level 2, we have an ICU and special care units to handle more complex cases.”

The hospital, located in Pampanga province, plans to reach Level 3 status by 2027. That designation would allow the facility to serve as a teaching and research hospital for doctors pursuing medical specialties, in line with directives from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac.

Beyond its main campus, the hospital is expanding through its “Sigla Wellness Center” initiative. New clinics have opened at the Department of Migrant Workers building in Makati, with additional sites planned for Ortigas and Quezon City to save workers the trip to Pampanga.

Future expansion plans include a cancer care center and dialysis services. In preparation, the hospital has intensified blood donation drives, collecting more than 400 bags of blood over the last two years to assist patients requiring transfusions.

Maglaya said the hospital is also strengthening its role in conducting pre-deployment health assessments to ensure workers are fit for overseas employment.

While the facility specifically targets migrant workers, Maglaya noted that the hospital treats all emergency cases regardless of OFW status, in compliance with the country’s Universal Healthcare Law.