ANOTHER P20-million worth of freebies.
Donations given by Detroit-based World Medical Relief Incorporated (WMRI) will definitely be a huge help to Angeleños (and those from Mabalacat City, Magalang and even City of San Fernando) who are seeking inexpensive if not totally free medical attention in government hospitals in Angeles City.
For one, there are another two units of dialysis machines in the 40-foot container van that was received by Angeles City Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan during flag raising ceremonies last Monday. The van contained many apparatus from the very complex like cardiac monitors and ventilators to the most simple but widely usable ones like canes and crutches.
Dr. David Zarate, WMRI national coordinator who flew in from Davao City where the Philippine office of the charitable organization is headquartered, personally led the turnover. He was with Atty Nick Moldez, WMRI legal counsel.
Of course we cannot expect MWRI president and CEO George Samson, a fellow Kapampangan, to be here each time the city receives the goodies. He was personally present though about several months ago for some donations for the now fully functional Renal Care Center of Angeles City.
Kong George, as I call him, is busy minding requests by other countries too being the top honcho of WMRI. He is a source of Philippine pride as he receives royalties, monarchs and diplomats every so often in his office.
--oo0oo--
In his speech, Mayor Edpam was both excited and emphatic. Who would not be? After all, these donations (which can fill up and make operational a small hospital) are but another round of gifts from WMRI benefactors.
The dialysis machines, for one, would add up to the 19 units that are already operational at the Rafael Lazatin Memorial Medical Center (formerly ONA). Thus, more and more Angeleños could avail of inexpensive dialysis sessions. A dialysis patient will only be charged P900 as against P4,000 to 5,000 in private hospitals each session.
Of course, it is not entirely free. One must understand that nurses, doctors, aides must also be paid for their own subsistence. Otherwise, they will be in exodus to better-paying jobs somewhere. Besides I don't believe that government should be providing services on dole out basis or 100 percent free. There has to be a minimal equity of some sorts on those who avail such.
WMRI is also sending soon a mobile PET (Positron Emission Tomography) SCAN machine, the third of its kind in the country. The first one is at St. Luke's Hospital which of course is a medical institution for the rich. The second one is in Butuan City in Mindanano which was also given by WMRI.
With its whopping book value of $1 million each, WMRI can only provide very limited PET scan units to the Philippines, as there are a hundred more developing countries that line up its main office in the US for the same kind of donations. And Dr. Zarate has deemed it practical that the second unit that would service Luzon area be given to Angeles City, given its strategic location.
PET Scan, according to Dr. Zarate, is a combination of CT and MRI scan. Cited by TIME magazine as an invention of the year in 2000, it makes use of nuclear medical imaging technique that produces a three-dimensional image or picture of functional processes in the body.
It has applications on many disciplines like neurology, cardiology, muscolo-skeletal studies and oncology. When it arrives in Angeles City, it will become part of the P50 million expansion of the ONA where the Pamintuan Administration is planning to establish a Cancer Center and a Coronary Center. Once fully operational, again this will be of great help to those with tumors and heart problems, especially with the PET scan.
--oo0oo--
Although based in Davao, Dr. Zarate is a Kapampangan too. He left his medical profession in San Francisco, California for a more meaningful service to his countrymen and decided to be a volunteer first for WMRI.
Kong George appointed him as Ambassador of Health and National Coordinator given his profession as a medical doctor as well as his avocation to make health care accessible to all, especially in strife torn Mindanao.
Dr. Zarate has such an unenviable job. I don't think a lot of medical doctors would do what he is doing. For starters, he goes to conflict-laden areas in Mindanao to help provide medical equipment from WMRI to remote hospitals.
These are the same hospitals where bullets, grenades, rockets between and among government troops, separatists, bandits, rebels, and what-have-yous trade. He just dodges them all so well in the name of service to countrymen and humanity. No wonder he was conferred Global Humanitarian Award in 2011 from among the hundreds of people who help WMRI accomplish its missions.
The likes of Kong George and Dr. Zarate (and their benefactor-donors) are the kind of selfless people that we need more not only in Mindanao but also in other parts of the planet.
Their efforts in providing equipment and medicines for hospitals make doctors, nurses and other medical practitioners stay in their jobs (and missions) especially in war- and strife-torn areas.
After all, who would stay in his/her assignment if he/she has only himself/herself as there are no surgical tables, no dental chairs, no hospital beds etc.? Even the brightest and best doctors on the globe will not be able to perform what they are capable of doing without equipment and logistical support.
And that is the essence of one of WMRI's roles - to really make health care accessible through medicines, equipment and medical supplies. Kudos to WMRI, its benefactors, donors, volunteers, officers, and staff.
The planet needs more people like you.