Health Summit 2018

From left to right: Dr. Jana, myself, Dr. Jerry

The Health Summit of 2018 took place today and it was essentially a meeting of all the healthcare personnel and volunteers from all 24 barangays (neighborhoods) that make up the Quezon municipality. They went over many of the projects, achievements, and accomplishments of 2017. 

For example, in 2013, there was a program initiated to ensure that every single household had at least one working CR (toilet) and though many of the barangays have achieved 100% of this goal, some houses are remaining without a CR. One of the reasons for this is because the houses are being rented or the land on which the houses are built belong to someone else so plumbing becomes an issue. The goal is that by 2020, all barangays will have reached 100% and from a public health perspective, this is absolutely crucial. Many infectious diseases are spread due to unsanitary conditions and if there is any hope of mitigating the rates of these communicable diseases, ensuring that people are living in clean conditions is absolutely crucial.

 It was also interesting to see some of their other accomplishments. The island had 55 births over the past 12 months and 26 surgeries, which took place in the main Alabat Hospital. They used the ambulance 172 and the rescue boat 83 times. It is also worth noting that the sea ambulance was only purchased a little over a year ago - meaning that prior to that, if individuals needed to go to the mainland for medical emergencies, they would have to rely upon the normal boat schedule which could delay treatment. 

Today was also the official transition of Municipal Health Officers. Dr. Jana, who has been serving here for the past 4 years as part of the Doctor to Barrios program, has completed her contract and will be returning to Manila to be part of a social innovation hub. Dr. Jerry, who will be taking her place, was a nurse for many years and served as an instructor before going back to medical school to receive his doctoral training. He has been hired by the Local Government to serve as the next municipal health officer. 

Majority of the summit took place in Tagalog so it was difficult to understand all of the accomplishments that were being discussed. However, one thing that really interested me was what took place at the end of the summit. Each barangay was given the task of coming together to create a plan/road map for their health goals and initiatives for the next year. They were to give their unique priorities and budgetary desires, as well as their plans to resolve any issues they identified. In this sense, not only did the summit serve as a time of reflection on what all had been accomplished in the past year, but it was also an opportunity for these leaders to look forward and plan for a better, healthier future.