HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
“We feel that we will reach more people by conducting our medical missions inside select SM malls instead of conducting it in just one community. By doing so, the foundation can accommodate more people in need of medical attention...”
TACLOBAN City Hospital in Barangay Marasbaras is one of two major public hospitals serving Tacloban. The 50-bed hospital is visited by patients as far as Samar, Southern Leyte, and Biliran who rely on the facility despite its small size and limited equipment.
When Typhoon Yolanda devastated Tacloban in 2013, the importance of the hospital was highlighted more than ever. Even though it was heavily damaged by the typhoon, it still accepted thousands of sick and injured patients who bore the brunt of nature’s wrath. Its doctors and nurses, who themsleves were typhoon victims, continued to perform their duties despite damage to its building and shortage of staff and medical supplies.
To enable the reliability of the hospital in the coming years, SM Foundation volunteered to rehabilitate and renovate the hospital in 2014. At a cost of P20 million, the foundation expanded the hospital’s bed capacity to 100 and provided it with additional equipment to enable it to perform surgeries such as Caesarian section. The renovation helped upgrade the hospital’s status from Level 1 to Level 2 Hospital that year.
Tacloban City Hospital is just one of many public medical facilities that SM Foundation repaired and renovated in previous years. All over the country, the foundation has been rehabilitating and renovating hospitals, hospices, military medical facilities, and barangay health centers so that these facilities can continue to serve the communities where they are located. To date, SM Foundation has repaired and renovated a total of 144 public hospitals, community health centers, military medical facilities, and elderly homes, and established Felicidad T. Sy Wellness Centers in each of them.
Lahug Health Center in Cebu is the latest and the 36th community center to be renovated and turned over. It is also the 132nd Wellness Center by the Foundation.
“We help upgrade these centers to become PhilHealth accredited. This accreditation will enable these centers to help more people in the communities for if they are already accredited, at least, we are able to help them expand their range of services,” says SM Foundation executive director for medical and health programs Connie Angeles.
Very recently, SM Foundation put up a day care center at the National Bureau of Investigation premises in Manila catering to children of NBI employees in an effort to minimize absenteeism among female employees. It has a breastfeeding room, a refrigerator to store breast milk, a toilet for kids and PWDs, aside from the regular toilet, a play area and study area.
With the support of volunteer doctors and nurses, and cooperation of local government units and non-government organizations, SM Foundation also conducts around 100 medical missions annually, which are held in barangays where SM malls are located.
Initially, these medical missions offer medical consultations and free medicines. With the purchase of four mobile medical clinics in 2002, these medical missions are able to perform a wider range of services, such as laboratory examinations, X-ray, ECG, dental services, even bone density scanning. The mobile medical clinics enable the foundation to conduct medical missions in far-flung areas, even in places where there are no SM malls. It also enables SM Foundation to immediately respond during times of calamities to provide needed medical aid to communities that need it.
More recently, SM Foundation has involved Watsons, one of the main anchors in SM malls, in a program that aims to raise funds to provide quality health and emergency assistance to indigent communities.
The Gamot Para sa Kapwa program encourages shoppers at Watsons to buy a Sureaid Disaster Kit worth P99 for donation or personal use. It contains basic items needed for quick survival such as an emergency blanket, 300-ml bottled water, masks, a flashlight, and a whistle.
Another recent endeavor within the foundation’s medical program is the conduct of medical missions inside SM malls, which began this year.
“We feel that we will reach more people by conducting our medical missions inside select SM malls instead of conducting it in just one community. By doing so, the foundation can accommodate more people in need of medical attention and provide them with medical care in an enclosed venue that’s comfortable and secure,” Angeles explained.
Through its nationwide effort to bring adequate medical services to indigent communities, and help the government in repairing and renovating public medical facilities, SM Foundation is achieving its goal of providing quality health care and creating better well-being for millions of Filipinos.