Healthcare and Human Welfare Systems

[kiretoce]

Some Pinoy nurses no longer seek US jobs

A number of Filipino nurses no longer see the United States as the land of milk and honey.

According to the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), the number of nurses who indicated their desire to look for US jobs plunged by 21.38 percent in the past nine months this year.

Former Senator and TUCP secretary-general Ernesto Herrera said America has lost some of its allure as a land of greener pasture for foreign nurses and other highly skilled professionals.

A total of 11,854 Filipino nurses took the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) for the first time from January to September 2009, a decrease of 3,225 compared to the 15,079 that took the test in the same nine-month period in 2008. [See: 15,000 RP nurses want to go to the US yearly - labor leader]

"The confidence of foreign workers in America's economic supremacy has clearly been shaken by the staggering job losses there," Herrera said.
Farm girl tops nursing exam, wishes to work in RP for now
Interview by Mark Merueñas

Wading through thick mud to plant rice required her to muster a considerable amount of physical strength. But for Jovie Ann Alawas Decoyna, maneuvering her way in a bustling medical facility just to attend to patients was way harder.

On Friday noon, all her hard work and the sleepless nights paid off when Decoyna – a native of Bakun town in Benguet who used to juggle school and rice farming – was announced as the topnotcher of the Nursing Licensure Examination given on Nov. 29-30, 2008.

Decoyna, who finished her nursing course at the Baguio Central University (BCU), emerged at the summit of a 39,455-long list of names of the nursing hopefuls who hurdled the exam.

“Sobrang overwhelmed ako. Hindi ko inexpect na makakapasa ako. Pero in-entrust ko lang talaga lahat kay Lord [I was so overwhelmed. I did not expect to even pass. But I just entrusted everything to the Lord]," Decoyna told GMANews.TV in a phone interview from Baguio.

In 2008, a total of 20,746 Filipino nurses took the NCLEX for the first time. This was slightly down compared to the 21,299 Filipino nurses that took the test for the first time in 2007.

According to Herrera, only 3,582 Filipino nurses took the NCLEX for the first time from July to September 2009, down 1,660 or 31.66 percent compared to the 5,242 that took the test in the same quarter in 2008.

"The continued decline in the number of Filipino nurses seeking to practice their profession in America comes even after the establishment of an NCLEX testing center in Manila, which has made it easier for them to take the examination," Herrera pointed out.

Before the local testing center was established in Manila, Filipino nurses had to travel overseas to take the NCLEX in Hong Kong, Guam or elsewhere, the TUCP said.

Filipinos still account for four out of every 10 foreign nurses seeking to enter the US nursing profession.

According to Herrera, the aggregate remittances of Filipino workers in America, including some 200,000 nurses, fell by $635 million or 11.84 percent to $4.731 billion in the seven months to August this year compared to $5.366 billion over the same period in 2008.

[kiretoce]

Politics depriving Laoag of good medical care

What a poor country like the Philippines suffers most from is a lack of good hospitals. Sick persons sometimes have to travel very long distances to get medical help in hospitals. And sometimes the patients do not reach the hospital alive.

The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office has a program of giving ambulances to local government units. But where would these ambulances take the patients when there are no well-equipped hospitals nearby? They have to take emergency cases two or three provinces away or to faraway Manila. And needless to say, some patients are dead by the time they get there.

So the ambulances are used by the mayor, or his wife or children or house help, to go joyriding or to go marketing or shopping, or to go to Metro Manila.

That is why we see so many ambulances from the provinces running around the metropolis. Sometimes the ambulance is used by the mayor to smuggle drugs.

Many Filipinos are in poor health, or die before their time because there are not enough hospitals to take care of its citizens.

Do you know that patients from the provinces who are suffering from end-stage kidney failure have to travel all the way to Metro Manila to be dialyzed to ensure their survival? Kidney patients will die within weeks or months if they are not hemodialyzed (a process of cleaning the blood of toxins via a machine, a cleansing that the failing kidneys can no longer do). A patient with end-stage kidney failure has to be dialyzed three times a week (at fees ranging from P3,000 to P15,000 per session), so that patients from the provinces have to rent rooms in Metro Manila to stay alive.

So I cannot understand why Gov. Michael Keon and the Ilocos Norte Provincial Board are blocking Laoag Mayor Michael F. Fariñas from upgrading the Laoag City General Hospital (LCGH).

The upgrading of the LCGH has been ongoing since 2002. It is part of Laoag’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP), approved by the City Council, reviewed and approved by the provincial board, and approved by the Department of Health. Health Secretary Francisco Duque commended Fariñas for wanting to upgrade the city hospital and provide quality and affordable health services to his constituents.

Laoag had set aside P24 million for the upgrading of the hospital and has secured a P350-million loan from two government banks and an international aid agency. That was during the governorship of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The governor is now Michael Keon, a cousin of Marcos Jr., and he and the provincial board are blocking the improvement of the LCGH.

“Both hospitals will offer the same medical services and facilities,” Keon said in a letter to the Department of Health. “It is important to note that the proposed LCGH is only 10 minutes away by car from the provincial hospital. The proximity of the two hospitals to one another plus the same service and facilities will result in what can only be described as ‘cut-throat’ competition as both compete for the same market share of patients-clientele.”

The provincial board disapproved a resolution of the Laoag City Council giving Fariñas authority to secure loans from government banks. Duque changed his mind about his endorsement of the upgrading of the LCGH and even wrote the Development Bank of the Philippines to discourage it from giving the LCGH a loan.

Why are they doing this? Any other local government official would be happy to have more than one hospital in his territory. In the case of Laoag and Ilocos Norte, patients cannot be accommodated in the present hospitals.

In a letter to Duque in 2008, Fariñas reported: “At present, the Laoag City General Hospital sometimes cannot accommodate patients seeking medical intervention due to lack of space. The situation also holds true with the Governor Roque Ablan Sr. Medical
Hospital (GRASMH) where some patients stay in alleys and corridors, and the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital (MMMH).”

Duque replied that the LCGH should remain a level 2 general 50-bed hospital (not a tertiary hospital) subject to review by the DoH. Again, why are they doing this to Fariñas and the people of Laoag?

The answer can only be petty politics, a case of one-upmanship. Keon doesn’t want Laoag to have a better hospital than the province because of his rivalry with Fariñas. Keon waged a bitter political battle against a close relative of the mayor, former Gov. Rudy Fariñas.

As for the two hospitals being close to each other, Metro Manila has more than a dozen hospitals, public and private, within minutes of one another, and there is still crowding in all of them. In Houston, Texas, there are many hospitals beside one another and the city is famous all over the world for its outstanding feats in medicine, especially in the field of cardiology. It is the home of the Texas Heart Institute and the Baylor Hospital, among the pioneers in heart transplants (my doctor-daughter studied there before getting a fellowship at the Yale Medical Center in Connecticut).

As for the disapproval by the provincial board, the Department of Interior and Local Government said the act “went beyond the perimeters of review set by the Supreme Court.”

“The authority of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Board) to review the acts of its component municipalities (cities) is limited to reviewing only (1) ordinances or (2) resolutions approving local development plans and public investment programs, per provisions of Sec. 56(a) of the Local Government Code of 1991 (RA 7160).”

Clearly, the governor and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan had no legal authority to disapprove the project.

[kiretoce]

Health-care reform pushed

The Philippines should have a socialized healthcare system that encompasses the entire country and not just Metro Manila—as is the case at present—to anticipate the increase in the number of the poor, with the worsening domestic economic situation as impacted by the global economic health.

This proposal was advanced by University of the Philippines economist Dr. Benjamin Diokno, who said the existing conditional cash transfer (CCT) program would probably be not enough, since the Pantawid ng Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) is concentrated in Metro Manila, a bias that considerably limits the program.

“The next administration should find better ways to spend money. The CCTs should be spent better. Socialized or universal health care could be funded by cutting graft,” said Diokno.

He said the 4Ps only reach the urban poor in Metro Manila and some rural poor living in nearby provinces. “This hardly puts a dent on the healthcare needs of the country since Filipinos living in Luzon make up 66 percent of the country’s gross domestic product [GDP].”

Diokno, a former budget secretary, said the high cost of food, which makes up around 61 percent of the total expenses of the poorest of the poor or those earning P40,000 per year, leaves them with hardly any money for anything else.

“Assistance to the poor should be unbiased. The poor are everywhere—in urban slums and rural hinterlands. In fact, there is higher and more intense poverty in the countryside than in Metro Manila. Inflation is higher in areas outside Metro Manila....Thus, the government’s subsidy program that favors NCR residents should be revisited.”

He said the next president can turn to universal health care also as a means for the Philippines to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), four of which are on health—eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, reduction of child mortality, improvement of maternal health, and better efforts against dread diseases such as HIV/AIDS.

Data from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific show the Philippines lags behind its Asean neighbors in reducing child mortality.

In 2006, there were 24 child deaths for every 1,000 Philippine births while Thailand recorded only seven child deaths for every 1,000 births. Indonesia had a worse record, with 26 child deaths for every 1,000 births.

The Philippines also lagged behind many of its Asean neighbors in under-5 mortality, with 32 deaths for every 1,000 of that age group.

Even in the proportion of births attended by skilled personnel, the Philippines is among the lowest in the region, with only around 73 percent of all births attended by skilled personnel in 2007.

[Animo]

By DWIGHT SARGA

The Spanish government has given the Philippines a $3.5-million grant for a three-year anti-hunger and malnutrition project that would be undertaken by the government and United Nations agencies.

The fund would be used to finance the joint program "Ensuring food security and nutrition for children 0-2 years old in the Philippines".

Beneficiaries would be children 0-5 years old, breast-feeding mothers and pregnant women in Naga City and Pasacao in Camarines Sur, Carles and Iloilo City in Iloilo, and Zamboanga City and Aurora in Zamboanga del Sur.

To be implemented starting 2010, the program aims to increase exclusive breast feeding rates in the said areas by 20 percent annually, reduce the prevalence of undernutrition by 3 percent in 2011 and improve the capacities of national and local government units and stakeholders to promote and implement policies and programs on Infant and Young Child Feeding.

It would develop "model breastfeeding communities to encourage working and non-working mothers to breastfeed their children, instead of relying to breast milk substitutes.

[davaob4now]

Nurses: Number 1 in Gallup's annual Honesty and Ethics of Professions poll
Honesty and Ethics Poll Finds Congress’ Image Tarnished


by the way kahit na sa america itong survey nato included ang thousands of filipino nurses and nurse practitioners sa survey who are working in the USA..

[kiretoce]

A tale of two hospitals

Yesterday, newspapers reported the inauguration of a P6.5 billion hospital which no less than the president described as a “quantum leap in medical care.” It boasts of “state-of-the-art medical equipment “ as well as “hotel-like facilities.” Mention was made of the P50,000 a day presidential suite and its luxurious amenities.

The president remarked that this hospital is better than 95% of the hospitals in America and better than 99% of the hospitals in the Philippines. The vice-president quipped that the “hospital charges are also state-of-the-art.”

It is good to have a hospital in the country which can match the best in the world.

Yesterday at 3 a.m. 17 year-old Jepoy was stabbed twice while he was taking a leak outside his house in Antipolo. Another boy brought him in a tricycle to a private medical center, also in Antipolo. He was bleeding profusely. He was refused admission. Still bleeding, he was brought to the provincial hospital. Again, he was refused admission because he needed an operation and they had a long line of patients to be operated on. Finally, he was brought to a government hospital in Quezon City. He vomited blood profusely at the Admissions Desk and in the operating room. By the time he was operated on, he had already lost too much blood. By half past noon, he was already dead.

Jepoy’s father drives a jeep while his mother is a vendor in the public market. As the eldest boy, he was the focus of his parents’ dreams and was just a first year college student. When I saw the mother sitting by her dead son’s body, she cried, “Why did the private hospital not accept him? Why did the second hospital refuse him? Why didn’t they send him in an ambulance to the last hospital? “

For once, I could not say a word. Would it have soothed the mother if I told her private hospitals routinely refuse admission to emergency victims like her son? Would she have been comforted if I told her ambulances are not entitlements but have to be paid for? Would she have felt better if I told her deaths like that of her son occur all the time and don’t even merit a line in our newspapers?

While waiting for the funeral parlor attendants to pick up her dead child in a small, stuffy “waiting area,” I watched as the mother repeatedly kissed her son and talked to him tenderly.

When the attendants removed the blood-soaked sheet and transferred him to the funeral stretcher, she tearfully begged, “Please be gentle. Slowly please!” As his body was lifted I saw the pool of fresh blood left on the hospital stretcher. He was still bleeding even as he lay dead.

A top-of-the line medical facility was recently inaugurated for those who can afford expensive and luxurious health care. On the same day, the child of a market vendor and a jeepney driver bled to death in a government hospital with insufficient emergency equipment.

It is good to have a hospital which can compete with the best hospitals in America. It is good to have a hospitals with suites worthy of presidents, potentates and magnates. It is good to have a hospital which will take care of expatriates and promote medical tourism.

However, it is just as good if we will also have public hospitals equipped to save lives in emergency situations. It will even be better if we will have a hospital system where patients don’t have to be refused and young lives lost for want of timely medical assistance.

[Animo]

by Danny Escabarte

Butuan City (27 January) -- Pregnant women and children needing medical attention don't need to travel far to Butuan City now. Assorted medical equipment purchased through assistance from Spanish aid agency Agencia Española de Cooperacion Internacional para el Desarollo (AECID) has just been delivered to Carmen Rural Health Unit to be used by personnel in serving poor families in the municipality.

Implemented by Fundacion Humanismo Y Democracia (H+D) in partnership with the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) and local government unit, the initiative seeks to improve access to maternal and child healthcare (MCH) services which is one of the problem affecting families in the province.
"Poor patients have to shell out hard earned money to go to Butuan City more than 30 kilometers away to avail needed medical attention," Dr. Bonifacion Wong Marcon disclosed. "With this medical equipment, we can now serve our constituents better," he added.

Carmen Mayor Ramon Calo expressed elation with the assorted equipment provided to them. "We will compliment the generosity of AECID and the Spanish People. We will ensure that budget for health is included in our priorities," Mayor Calo said.

The medical equipment includes emergency lights, sterilizer, adjustable beds with bed sheets, assorted forceps, BP apparatuses, gooseneck lamps, I.V. stand, suction machines, surgical scissors, wheelchairs, flashlights, weighing scales, thermometers, boxes of disposable syringes and needles, bassinet newborn carriers among others.

Carmen Town in Agusan del Norte is a fourth class municipality with most of its basic services for the people is being funded by the internal revenue allotment (IRA) from the national government. Fishing and farming are main source of livelihood.

Most of the deliveries of pregnant mothers are done at home; it was learned from health personnel interviewed at the Rural Health Unit in Carmen. "It is costly to avail medical services in the city, so most of them decide to give birth at home," Dr. Marcon disclosed. "The medical equipment complimented with budgetary support from the local government unit will facilitate easy access to needed health services for the people," he added.

The health initiative in Carmen is only part of a bigger undertaking by AECID to assist children and families gain access to basic services. Parallel to the health-related project, the Spanish aid agency is also engaged in education-focused project for school children in Agusan del Norte.

Included in the assistance package are also upgrading of RHUs, training and mobilization of Barangay Health Workers (BHWs), construction of lying-in clinics among others. At least seven municipalities in the province will be benefited by the project. These are the towns of Carmen, Buenavista, Remedios T. Romualdez, Nasipit, Magallanes, Tubay and Cabadbaran. (PBSP-Mindanao)

[kiretoce]

Smoking ban in government premises cited by DoH

A day after announcing that smoking highly increases the risk of developing lung cancer, Health Secretary Esperanza I. Cabral warned government employees and people transacting with government agencies to strictly adhere to the no-smoking rule in government premises or face disciplinary action as stipulated under the Civil Service Commission’s Memorandum Circular No. 17, series of 2009.

“In places providing services relating to health and youth activity, such as hospitals, health centers, schools, universities and colleges, smoking is absolutely prohibited and ‘smoking areas’ are not allowed,” she said.

The other day, Cabral called a conference and emphasized that one of the ways to avoid lung cancer is to stop smoking.

“Except for places where smoking is absolutely prohibited, smoking is allowed only in designated and marked outdoor smoking areas that are located in an open-space with no permanent or temporary roof or walls and 10 meters away from entrances, exits or any place where people pass or congregate. Smoking Area signages must also be highly visible and prominently displayed," she added.

Cabral warned that complaints filed against anyone who is smoking will be investigated and will be meted with disciplinary action.

Last January 6, the CSC issued the memo announcing a 100 percent smoke-free policy and smoking prohibition in all areas of government premises, buildings and grounds except those areas that have been designated as smoking areas.

“The policy not only encourages people to quit smoking but also seeks to protect people from exposure to second-hand smoke. Second-hand smoke, as shown in recent studies, can be harmful to people's health, even small amounts of it. It causes lung cancer, increases the risk of a heart attack, triggers asthma, and causes acute respiratory effects,” the CSC memo said.

The health chief is particularly concerned with the spread of second-hand smoke which increases the risk for heart disease by 50 percent.

Health experts agree that constant exposure to second-hand smoke doubles the risk of heart attack and persons also become 25 percent more susceptible to lung cancer.

“The effects of second-hand smoke on lung function are similar to smoking a few sticks a day. It can cause emphysema, chronic bronchitis and asthma attacks,” Cabral said.

In the last quarter of 2009, the DoH commissioned a Social Weather Station Survey on Smoking under the Bloomberg Initiative-Philippines OC-400 Project.

The survey found that some 28 percent of Filipinos are current smokers. The percentage of smokers in rural areas is higher at 28 percent while in urban areas it is 27 percent.

The study also revealed that more smokers belong to the Class E at 31 percent followed by Class D at 26 percent and Class ABC with only 21 percent.

Males were also found to smoke more than females at 46 percent versus the 8 percent rate on females.

Most smokers, or 30 percent of the respondents who smoke, belong to the 35 to 44 years old age bracket, followed by the 18 to 24 years old at 26 percent, while 22 percent are aged 55 years and up.

The DoH survey also found that those with a higher educational attainment tend to smoke less than those with no formal education.

By educational attainment, only 20 percent of those who completed college education smoke, while up to 32 percent of those with no formal education smoke.

[jpdm]

Originally Posted by kiretoce

Some Pinoy nurses no longer seek US jobs

A number of Filipino nurses no longer see the United States as the land of milk and honey.

According to the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), the number of nurses who indicated their desire to look for US jobs plunged by 21.38 percent in the past nine months this year.

Former Senator and TUCP secretary-general Ernesto Herrera said America has lost some of its allure as a land of greener pasture for foreign nurses and other highly skilled professionals.

A total of 11,854 Filipino nurses took the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) for the first time from January to September 2009, a decrease of 3,225 compared to the 15,079 that took the test in the same nine-month period in 2008. [See: 15,000 RP nurses want to go to the US yearly - labor leader]

"The confidence of foreign workers in America's economic supremacy has clearly been shaken by the staggering job losses there," Herrera said.
Farm girl tops nursing exam, wishes to work in RP for now
Interview by Mark Merueñas

Wading through thick mud to plant rice required her to muster a considerable amount of physical strength. But for Jovie Ann Alawas Decoyna, maneuvering her way in a bustling medical facility just to attend to patients was way harder.

On Friday noon, all her hard work and the sleepless nights paid off when Decoyna – a native of Bakun town in Benguet who used to juggle school and rice farming – was announced as the topnotcher of the Nursing Licensure Examination given on Nov. 29-30, 2008.

Decoyna, who finished her nursing course at the Baguio Central University (BCU), emerged at the summit of a 39,455-long list of names of the nursing hopefuls who hurdled the exam.

“Sobrang overwhelmed ako. Hindi ko inexpect na makakapasa ako. Pero in-entrust ko lang talaga lahat kay Lord [I was so overwhelmed. I did not expect to even pass. But I just entrusted everything to the Lord]," Decoyna told GMANews.TV in a phone interview from Baguio.

In 2008, a total of 20,746 Filipino nurses took the NCLEX for the first time. This was slightly down compared to the 21,299 Filipino nurses that took the test for the first time in 2007.

According to Herrera, only 3,582 Filipino nurses took the NCLEX for the first time from July to September 2009, down 1,660 or 31.66 percent compared to the 5,242 that took the test in the same quarter in 2008.

"The continued decline in the number of Filipino nurses seeking to practice their profession in America comes even after the establishment of an NCLEX testing center in Manila, which has made it easier for them to take the examination," Herrera pointed out.

Before the local testing center was established in Manila, Filipino nurses had to travel overseas to take the NCLEX in Hong Kong, Guam or elsewhere, the TUCP said.

Filipinos still account for four out of every 10 foreign nurses seeking to enter the US nursing profession.

According to Herrera, the aggregate remittances of Filipino workers in America, including some 200,000 nurses, fell by $635 million or 11.84 percent to $4.731 billion in the seven months to August this year compared to $5.366 billion over the same period in 2008.

Maybe because of limited job opportunities..

[kiretoce]

In tough economic times, the healthcare industry thrives. There are more unemployed Americans going back to school to be trained as healthcare professionals, which then fills the immediate needs of the hospitals to fill vacant positions. Thus, shutting out the aspiring foreign healthcare worker seeking to land a job here in the US.

[hakz2007]

Palace urges consultations on DOH's planned policy changes
By Catherine J. Teves

MANILA, Feb. 25 (PNA) -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her Cabinet are open to studying public health policy changes of the Department of Health (DOH) with the objective of curbing further spread of the deadly human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the still-incurable acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) it causes.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Ricardo Saludo gave this assurance as DOH Sec. Esperanza Cabral supported the use of condoms to help address the country's HIV-AIDS problem.

"DOH can study if this is aligned with government's policy and if it's not, such matter can be brought to the President and her Cabinet," he said Thursday during a Palace briefing.

He said consultation is due since Cabinet members are alter egos of the President and they carry out her policies.

Saludo also noted the matter must be studied because government is promoting natural family planning while condoms are among artificial devices for preventing unwanted pregnancy.

Condoms are likewise used to promote safe sex.

Cabral is supporting condom use since HIV-AIDS is associated with unsafe or unprotected sex and with risky behavior.

Such behavior includes having multiple sexual partners and sharing needles for injecting drugs.

The country's Catholic bishops are fuming mad over Cabral's support for condom use.

They want her sacked from the Cabinet.

Still, Malacanang is steering clear of the row over condom use.

Malacanang is instead urging people to evaluate the matter based on facts.

"One fact is the Church continues promoting sex within marriage - that means having only one lifetime partner," Saludo said.

He also said studies show faster spread of HIV-AIDS in a country where condom use is widespread.

"Condom use might even create the impression that high-risk sex is safe," he added. (PNA)

[hakz2007]

Bottled water may be unsafe- DOH

ILOILO CITY, Feb. 27 (PNA)- The Department of Health (DOH) in Western Visayas has cautioned the public against the proliferation of bottled water, or commonly known as mineral water on fears that it might be hazardous to health.

Dr. Jessie Glen Alonsabe, DOH Region 6 epidemiologist, said unscrupulous businessmen may take advantage of the torrid heat being generated by the El Nino phenomenon by turning out cheap and substandard drinking water.

Anxiety over verified reports that low water reserves across the country may not be enough to supply a thirsty population owing to a virtually zero rainfall in the coming months is driving nervous citizens to buy bottled water but which the doctor said could be contaminated and unfit for drinking.

The Epidemiologist instead suggested to ''go back to the basics'' by boiling tap and deep well water as heat efficiently destroys harmful microbes.

In a related development, Alonsabe warned that an average of two heatstroke cases in Iloilo has been observed by the DOH.

He said that because of prevailing harsh weather conditions, there has been a surge in heatstroke, sunburns, and red tide. Alonsabe advised the public to shun the sun from 10 o'clock in the morning to 2 o'clock in the afternoon to avoid acquiring sunburn, which is characterized by reddening and blistering with consequent peeling of the skin.

Alonsabe clarified that although heatstroke is not among the top 10 killer diseases in the country, it is still potentially dangerous as it can maim, or even kill humans.

He said that a proven remedy against heatstroke is by taking plenty of water to keep dehydration at bay. (PNA)

[the glimpser]

An investment that may save your child’s life
By Katherine Evangelista
INQUIRER.net

It is an investment similar to bonds, stocks, and savings. But unlike them, this investment can save the life of your child or other members of your family against diseases that are life-threatening.

This is what CordLife Medical Philippines Inc. is hoping to provide by establishing the first cord blood bank facility in the Philippines.

“Our investment here is the accumulation of our global technical experience and scientific understanding which we want to bring the people of the Philippines,” said CordLife chief executive officer Steven Fang in his speech last February 23 at the inauguration of the facility at the University of the Philippines –Ayala Land Technohub in Quezon City.

The CordLife cord blood bank facility has state-of-the-art technology of Sepax® which utilizes fully-automated sterile and precise cell processing system which has a recovery rate of up to 96 percent, said Fang.

Doctor Cherie Daly, head of the Group Medical Affairs of CordLife Ltd. based in Singapore, said the center here would provide services like cord blood cell extraction and cryogenic preservation.

Daly said the process involved getting stem cells mainly from the umbilical cord of a new born baby.

“The stem cells from the umbilical cord are the most primitive and earliest stem cells that we can get and we can store these stem cells at –196 degrees Celsius. When the stem cells are in the state of non-aging because they are frozen in time, we can be assured of stem cells that are the youngest and have the most promise when being used one day for the patient,” Daly said.

“Stem cells are the basic building blocks of all our tissues... Stem cells’ natural capability is to help in the area where tissues are damaged or destroyed, these stem cells go to the area and help build and repair our tissues,” Daly said.

Daly said cord blood stem cells have been proven to aid in treating over 80 types of diseases, including certain types of cancers and other blood related disorders like leukemia and lymphoma.

She said that there have been positive results in tests on stem cell therapy for cerebral palsy and type 1 diabetes.

Daly said that cord blood cells from your baby could also be used to treat other family members, with 75 percent chance of a match with siblings and up to 50 percent match with parents.

“Tests have shown that stem cell transplant using cells from a family member has doubled the survival rate [of the patient] as compared to when it comes from an unrelated donor,” Daly said.

“We believe that with sufficient clinical evidence of successful therapies, more medical options may be available to families who have stored their children’s cord blood,” Fang said.

There are other methods of extracting stem cells like drawing blood from an adult's bone marrow which is an invasive procedure and has medical risks and through the controversial embryonic stem cell extraction, which poses moral and ethical issues because the process requires aborting the newly formed embryo, Daly said.

For comedienne Giselle Sanchez, a second-time mother, CordLife is “an investment, just like bonds, stocks and saving. The difference is no matter how much interest you get in bonds and portfolio savings, you can't save your child's life or your loved one's should he/ she be stricken with a life-threatening disease, God forbid."

Sanchez, who spoke at the inauguration, disclosed that she had both her children’s cord blood stored at the flagship facility in Singapore.

Established in 2001, CordLife adheres to quality standards of the American Association of Blood Banks, the International Organization for Standardization and Therapeutic Goods Administration, among others.

The Philippine outlet is the company's seventh facility worldwide with branches at Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, China, Netherlands, and India.

To avail of CordLife’s services, a P40,000 enrolment fee is required. This will include cord blood collection, procedural fee, processing, infectious disease tests and transport of the collected blood within Metro Manila.

An annual fee of P8,000 is also required for the maintenance of the cord blood unit.

For more inquiries, you can call 09178878611 or visit CordLife Phils. at Unit 101 Building H, UP-AyalaLand Technohub.

[hakz2007]

Canadian knee implant developer to locate operations in Philippines

Toronto, ON March 2 --- BMT Medical Technology, Inc., a Canadian R&D company located in Toronto that designs, manufactures and tests orthopaedic implants for humans, wishes to locate its manufacturing operation to the Philippines. This announcement was recently made by the company’s President, James Bateman, to Ambassador Jose Brillantes in Ottawa, who has expressed support for the plan.


“The Philippine Embassy is greatly interested in seeing this project realized in the Philippines,” Ambassador Brillantes told Bateman. “The vision of setting up a privately-owned orthopaedic rehabilitation facility dedicated to knee and other joint replacement, perhaps in cooperation with the National Orthopedic Hospital is a desirable one.” The Ambassador added, ”I believe it is a project the Philippine Government will assist purposefully”.


According to Bateman the manufacturing, quality control, sterile packaging, training, distribution and Surgical Trial efforts will be moved from BMT’s Toronto facilities to Manila. “BMT sees this as a major opportunity for the Philippines’ Medical Tourism Program and the orthopaedic and medical communities,” he added.



NEW IMPLANT DESIGN:


The radical and newly designed BMT Knee Replacement Implant outdates many older-designed implants and it is anticipated it will cause a dynamic and positive shift in the success rates of Total Knee Replacement (KTR) surgeries and thereby dramatically increase Patients’ Quality of Life.


Recent computerized design and manufacturing capabilities, linked with modern materials, make the BMT Implant Project a major opportunity for Filipino firms wishing to enter into the highly skilled and potentially profitable Medical Implant Manufacturing and Distribution markets.



PHILIPPINE CORPORATE INVESTMENT:


BMT is seeking to form a Joint Venture Philippine-based company with investors in both the Philippine medical and investment sectors. Filipinos in North America, Europe and Asia to may also wish to invest in the BMT-JV Company and spearhead further development of the BMT range of implants and to initiate Surgical Trials and product distribution throughout the World.



ABOUT THE COMPANY:


BMT Medical Technology Inc. is a Toronto-based private R&D company incorporated in Ontario. The BMT Knee is an extension of the design of the famous 3M-Bateman Hip, designed by the late Dr. James Bateman, a Toronto orthopaedic surgeon, known for shoulder, nerve, feet and hip work. He co-founded the Orthopaedic & Arthritic Hospital Toronto and traveled the World teaching surgeons about the merits of the Hip’s design.


3M’s efforts over the life of the Bateman Hip patent resulted in sales/installation of an estimated 700,000 hips. BMT will license certain territories such as ASEAN, China, India, North & South America and Europe over the next few years. Its business development effort is also supported by the Canada Philippines Business Council (CPBC) headquartered in Toronto.



CONTACT:


Further information is available by contacting James Bateman, Managing Director, BMT Medical Technology Inc., at james@bmtorthopaedics.com

[xxxriainxxx]

Call center party-list sets up HIV hotline

Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 08:36:00 03/03/2010

Filed Under: business process outsourcing (BPO), Health, Diseases, Epidemic and Plague

MANILA, Philippines—The party-list group representing the BPO (business processing outsourcing) and call center industry has launched an HIV hotline following the disclosure by a former call center agent that he became HIV-positive in 2009.

AKMA-PTM, through spokesperson Kevin Carreon, in a press statement, described the HIV hotline as a “lifeline for assistance” to raise Filipinos’ awareness on the dangers of HIV and provide access to those in need of medical testing, counseling and even treatment for the dreaded virus that causes AIDS.

Carreon called the spread of HIV in the country a “silent epidemic.”

He said the HIV hotline, 546-0691, is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. six days a week and is manned by call center agents linked to the AKMA-PTM secretariat. The hotline has general information on HIV for agents and all interested callers.

“We have taken up the cudgels for the 500,000 call center agents in the Philippines, and one of our flagship projects is promoting public awareness of HIV-AIDS among industry workers and the general public,” said Carreon.

“We know that the BPO and call center industry is the hardest hit based on the reported cases of HIV infections in the country. We feel this is the proper time to respond to a silent epidemic,” Carreon said.

Last Monday, a 20-year-old call center agent disclosed in a video-taped statement he was infected with HIV in 2009 after having casual sex with a hospital worker he had met at a street party in Quezon City.

“The reason I contracted HIV was because I did not practice safe sex,” said the man, his face covered with a mask.

[hakz2007]

DOH to ban mercury importation

6-point agenda to a mercury-free Philippines presented

Manila (2 March) -- Following movements to ban mercury globally, the Philippine Department of Health on Friday said that it will ask for the banning on importation of mercury products in the country.

Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral in a meeting with environmental health group, Health Care Without Harm-Southeast Asia (HCWH-SEA) identified other measures to ensure that the public will be safe from mercury.

#1: No more mercury permits

According to Cabral, since Administrative Order (AO) 21was implemented in September 2008, the DoH is no longer giving permits to medical devices distributors to sell mercury thermometers. The program will be escalated to include mercury sphygmomanometers.

Prior to AO 21, all hospitals have a one-is-to-one policy on mercurial thermometers. This means that every patient admitted or discharged in a hospital is entitled to one mercurial thermometer. In 2007, one 300 bed hospital distributed 10,000 mercurial thermometers in just a year.

#2: AO 21 to reach local health units

The DoH likewise said that they will promote and disseminate AO 21 to the local government units (LGUs) who are managing the barangay health units, rural health units, city heath and municipal, district and provincial hospitals.

In the regional conferences organized by HCWH-SEA and DoH Center for Health Development (CHD), majority of LGU-run hospitals and health centers said that they are unaware of AO 21.

In the conference for CALABARZON region, several health units raised the issue of involving the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) in the implementation of AO 21 citing that they are directly under the Department and that funding must also be supported by the LGUs.

#3: Mercury-free budget

To further speed-up AO 21 implementation, Cabral said that they will look into the 2009 General Appropriations Act (GAA) 13.2 M allocation for 66 government-run hospitals to purchase non-mercurial devices and have it released at the soonest possible time.

In 2008, HCWH-SEA together with Social Watch's Alternative Budget Initiative for health lobbied for additional environmental health allocations in the DoH budget. This however remains unreleased. 

#4: Beyond health care

Cabral likewise expressed that DoH will set-up a program to follow-up on the state of the more than 20 student victims of mercury poisoning in St. Andrew's School in Paranaque in 2006.

Earlier, one of the victims who is now suffering advanced stage of Parkinsonism and nerve damage filed a 6M civil case against the school. While the other victims have stopped chelation therapy to remove mercury from their system, it is unclear whet her they have been cleared by the hospital.

#5: More alternatives

Cabral also pronounced that the DoH will continue the program to replace mercury devices in hospitals.

To further strengthen this, Cabral signed the Green Health Covenant which calls for the health sector and other individuals to call on their candidates to support mercury phase-out in the country and other green health care agenda such as proper heath care waste management leading to zero waste, chemical safety in health care and a health care responsive to climate change.

The Green Health Covenant now has more than 900 signatures from health care facilities in Regions 1, 2, 4A and online signatories.

#6: Ban mercury importation

The next logical step to mercury phase-out: ban mercury.

DoH said they will ask for the banning of importation of mercury products.This will prevent entry of mercury devices in the Philippine market.

HCWH is an international coalition of more than 470 organizations in 52 countries, working to transform the health care sector worldwide, without compromising patient safety or care, so that it is ecologically sustainable and no longer a source of harm to public health and the environment. (PIA)

[hakz2007]

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[hakz2007]

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[hakz2007]

EcoWaste Coalition offers 25 “hot” cooling tips as temperature soars

MANILA, March 9 (PNA) -- An environmental group has come up with practical suggestions that can help Filipino families cope with the scorching summer heat.

The EcoWaste Coalition Tuesday released their “Init Survival Tips” as temperature continues to soar with the onset of summer.

Last Saturday, temperature rose to 35.8 degrees celsius in Metro Manila and 37 degrees celsius in Tuguegarao City in Cagayan Valley.

To make the sweltering heat bearable, especially for ordinary citizens, the coalition compiled a list of “tips” that were sent via e-mail and text by its members and friends.

“We can beat the roasting summer heat by adopting creative ideas that will keep our bodies and homes cool without wasting precious water and electricity during this period of El Niño,” said Eileen Sison, NGO representative to the National Solid Waste Management Commission.

“Drinking lots of water is our best protection against the blazing heat. For a healthy and thirst-quenching drink, try blended or ‘ginadgad at pinigang' camias or Indian mango, or quickly-boiled avocado leaves with pandan for a refreshing ‘avopan’ juice,” suggested Ofelia Panganiban of Zero Waste Philippines.

“Think positive and call to mind happy moments to keep you calm and less irritable during the hot season. Enjoy simple family bonding activities such as sharing a healthy meal outside the house or under a tree,” added Bro. Martin Francisco of the Sagip Sierra Madre Environmental Society.

Here are some tips to help you survive the scorching summer season.

I.TIPS TO KEEP YOUR HOME COOL:

-Keep the windows open and the air flowing.

-Unclutter your home of stuff that eat space and get in the way of the air and simple living.

-Install blinds or shades made of native materials to block intense sun’s rays.

-Get farther from the roof; spend more time downstairs.

-Sun bleach or dry your clothes on the roof (the clothes will deflect the sun’s heat).

-Green your home with indoor plants that can also serve as natural air fresheners.

-Use plants, potted or planted directly into the soil, to block off the afternoon sun.

-Turf off sources of heat such as lights bulbs and appliances when not in use; maximize the daylight.

-Keep the electric fans clean and in good condition.

-Do heat-generating activities such as ironing clothes at night.

-Never burn your household discards, including fallen leaves and twigs from the garden.

-Recycle graywater from dishwashing, laundry and bathing to water plants or dampen dusty pavements.

II. TIPS TO KEEP YOUR BODY COOL:

-Drink plenty of water to keep your body hydrated and your temperature down.

-Bring drinking water in reusable jug every time you go out (and lessen consumption of bottled water).

-Prepare your own healthy thirst quenchers such as “buko” juice or “iced tea” from pandan and tanglad (lemon grass) leaves.

-Refrain from consuming alcoholic drink, which makes one urinate more often and cause water loss.

-Enjoy fruits and vegetables with high water content such as watermelon, melon, singkamas (turnip) and cucumber.

-Eat small meals at regular intervals as big meals can warm your body up; eat green leafy veggies.

-Place damp handtowel on forehead, around the neck and under the armpits for a relaxing cool.

-When taking a bath, wet your underarms and extremities first before the head area; keep your shower time short to cut on water use.

-Do inhale-exhale exercise at least five times a day.

-Hold a cold beverage on your neck to cool yourself.

-Protect yourself from the sun using an umbrella, bandana, cap or an anahaw palm fan.

-Wear shades or sunglasses to protect your eyes against the sun’s harsh blaze.

-Wear light and loose clothes that breathe easily. (PNA)