THE five-storey building of the Institute of Women and Newborn Health (IWNH) of the Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City is one the newest and most modern facility in the SPMC complex. Completed in March of this year, it is aimed to address the demand for maternity care of mothers and neonatal care of newborns with sensitive health conditions, not only in the Davao Region, but as well as the southern part of the country.
Within the institute, the setting can be very stressful for patients with all the medical and nursing personnel moving around, different alarms and buzzers sounding off continuously and medical machines and apparatuses installed all over the place. This is particularly true for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), which is a special nursery for high-risk newborns who are born premature, are sick or those who may need ventilatory support (intubated babies) and surgery.
To address this concern, members the Davao and North Davao Chapters of the United Architects of the Philippines volunteered to create murals and art paintings in the walls of the NICU and Breastfeeding Area of the IWNH to brighten these areas and help hearten the mood of patients, parents and guardians, as well as those of the medical and nursing staff.
The concept team, composed of the Head of the Section of Neonatology (NICU) Dr. Melanie Adolfo, Ms. Jehsryl Apolo and Architects Sweet Casas and Rjin Dacanay, came up with a “woodland creatures” and “mother and child” theme for the NICU and Breastfeeding Area, respectively.
Following the MOA signing on April 24, between the SPMC, headed by SPMC Chief Dr. Leopoldo Vega and the architects’ group, led by UAP Davao President Imelda Canuday, around 70 volunteers, consisting of architects, members of Davao Artists and Muralists Davao, and students from the University of Mindanao College of Architecture and Fine Arts Education (UM CAFAE), among others, showed up on site the following day to do the actual painting of the murals using paints generously donated by Davies Paints Philippines.
With the murals completed in three days, the walls of the NICU and Breastfeeding Area are now an interesting sight to behold. The presence of caricatures of jungle animals depicted all over the place creates a warm and cheerful environment which can surely help ease the parents burden and anxiety on their children's condition.
During the closing program following the completion of the mural painting activity, Ma. Crissa Nacionales, Administrative Officer of the Institute for Women & Newborn Health and Dr. Adolfo expressed their heartfelt gratitude to the architects for spearheading the project and to UM CAFAE Dean Iluminado Quinto Jr. and Mr. Perry Liquigan, head of the Davao Artists and Muralists Davao, for mobilizing the volunteers to share their talent, time and effort for the success of the endeavor.