BATAC CITY -- Health workers from the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (MMMH&MC) here brought a new twist to Flores de Mayo (Mayflower festival) by highlighting public health advocacies during the celebration.
In her opening speech during the event on Tuesday, MMMH&MC chief, Dra. Maria Lourdes Otayza said its celebration focused on the plight of the poor and how they can easily access various services of the hospital and medical center.
“In our daily role as ambassadors for health, this celebration is our unique and engaging way to promote our programs and bring our message of hope, quality treatments, and unity in the community,” she said.
The celebration included a pageant-like Santa Cruzan procession wherein the eight pairs of participating health workers paraded around the city while carrying their custom-made arches with designs that highlighted their public health advocacies.
These included proper new-born hearing screening treatment, mother care, infant breastfeeding, nutrition and adolescent health clinics, animal bite treatment, diabetic clinic, tuberculosis treatment, and mental health program.
After the parade, the health workers were given the chance to speak about their advocacies, the ways to achieve their goals, and reach out to the public.
The winning pair, doctors Karl Alvin Corpuz and Vernie Constantino, advocated for the establishment of a nutrition support clinic in the hospital which shall ensure the delivery of vital nutritional needs to Ilocanos, specially the poor and marginalized.
Jhey-ar Mangati, MMMH&MC’s Health Education and Promotions Officer, said the event is one of the hospital’s way of preparing for the upcoming Department of Health (DOH)-Hospitals Friendship Games to be held in Tuguegarao City this July 2019.
The games shall be participated by DOH-retained hospitals from Regions 1 and 2.
“We are looking forward to the friendship games as this is also an opportunity for every DOH retained hospital across Northern Luzon to strengthen linkages and referral system benefiting our thousands of patients to easily have access to quality and effective health care services,” said Mangati in an interview.
With the passage of Universal Health Care Law earlier this year, a stronger referral and coordinating system is eyed to ensure that patients receive the best care closest to home, and to address efficiently their need for further and advanced treatment in other health institutions.
In November 2018, the MMMH&MC surpassed the compliance stage and bagged the Gold Governance Trailblazer Award as part of its efforts under the Performance Governance System which ensures that government services are being brought closer to the Filipinos. (PNA)
