MAKATI UNVEILS NEW COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICE PROGRAM

SPECIALIZED health care through the ne barangay (village) community service program of the Ospital ng Makati (OsMak) began bringing medical specialists to four select villages in District 1 on Tuesday. OsMak, the premier tertiary hospital run by the city government of Makati, will be fielding specialists from Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology and General Surgery to the health centers of Pio del Pilar, Poblacion, Santa Cruz and San Antonio. The hospital is located in District 2. “I would like to congratulate OsMak for consistently delivering quality healthcare to our constituents in Makati. This community service program is a big help to residents of villages in District 1 who find it difficult commuting to the hospital for their check-ups,” Makati Mayor Abigail Binay said during the launching ceremony held on Monday at City Hall. OsMak launched the program in partnership with the Makati Health Department (MHD), which chose the four pilot barangay. Under the program, second and third year residents from OsMak will take morning or afternoon duties from Tuesday to Friday. Morning schedule is 9 a.m. to 12 noon while afternoon schedule is 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The OsMak doctors will entertain both scheduled and walk-in patients in the village health centers, especially discharged patients from OsMak who need follow-up check-ups. Apart from screening patients who need specialized medical care, the doctors will also conduct lectures and training for health workers, patients and their relatives. The resident doctors will also assist in implementing national health programs in the villages and conduct lay forums on common surgical illnesses, communicable and non- communicable diseases, mother’s classes and child protection workshops, to name a few. Surgery residents will be performing minor surgeries like circumcision, incision and drainage, change of foley catheter, change of dressing and removal of stitches and others at the designated health center. Patients who need tertiary surgical care, however, will be referred to OsMak. Barangay Pio del Pilar will have surgery residents every Tuesday morning; Internal Medicine on Wednesday afternoons; Ob- Gyn on Thursday afternoons; and Pedia on Friday afternoons. Barangay San Antonio will have Pedia residents every Tuesday afternoon; Surgery on Wednesday mornings; Internal Medicine on Thursday afternoons; and Ob- Gyn on Friday mornings. Barangay Sta Cruz will have Ob- Gyn and Pedia residents on Tuesday mornings; Surgery on Thursday mornings; and Internal Medicine on Friday afternoons. Barangay Poblacion will have Internal Medicine residents on Tuesday afternoons; Ob- Gyn on Wednesday afternoons; and Surgery on Friday mornings. Last month, OsMak celebrated its 30th founding anniversary. What began as a small, one-story structure at Malugay Street slowly evolved into the state of the art, internationally recognized multi-specialty hospital it is today. OsMak is the first locally-run hospital in the country to be accredited as a Center of Excellence by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation or PhilHealth.