St. Luke’s deploys medical teams for Taal relief
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2020 17:37:12 +0000
ST. LUKE’S Medical Center (SLMC) Global City launched medical missions and relief operations for the Taal eruption on January 18.
Partnered with the Philippine Army, SLMC — Global City sent a team of 80 medical practitioners, bearing 3,500 relief packs with food, water, hygiene kits, diapers and blankets to cities in Batangas and Laguna.
The adult and pediatric doctors as well as nurses were able to care for more than 1,000 patients. The SLMC-Global City team distributed free N95 masks to mitigate the effects of living close to Taal Volcano. They also dispensed medication to evacuees with chronic conditions like hypertension and checked for signs of other infectious diseases.
SLMC Nurse Unit Manager Gillian Platino shared, “We’ve seen a lot of patients with cough and colds. We’ve also seen one with possible chickenpox so, of course, that has a possibility of spreading.”
SLMC Vice President for Medical Practice Group and Assistant Chief Medical Officer Dr. Deborah D. Ona shared, “The [evacuees] have been here a week, but if they stay here longer, you’ll see more infectious diseases among them.”
Dr. Ona added that the SLMC team was also able to identify evacuees who needed urgent care. “We coordinated with the local health official so they can be transferred to a hospital near here.”
“Our mission is to not only offer medical treatment but also uplift our brothers and sisters by providing quality care,” closed SLMC President and CEO Dr. De La Peña.