The slew of typhoons that visited the country in the latter part of the year may seem to have spared no one, but it is fortunate news that MPF-RBR emerged practically unscathed by Nature’s rampage.
In September, the first of the typhoons, Ondoy, made landfall in Luzon, leaving in its wake close to Php 9 billion in damage and leaving most of Metropolitan Manila under water for months to come. Together with Typhoon Pepeng, the damage came close to Php 30 billion with 600 casualties, according to the Office of Civil Defense.
Despite these bleak realities, M.P.F’s Pasig competence was safe Mother Nature’s wrath as it remained dry while surrounding areas in the city were submerged in water.
Although there was a lack of physical damage to the facility, General Manager Marwynne Rivera noted that he also had fears during the period of crisis.
Among others, he said that he was afraid that electricity supply would be unreliable during the days following the typhoon. In addition, he said that securing food was an issue because the market where the hospital procures its supply also went underwater.
More specifically, he said that some of the staff had to go on straight 24-hour duties to cope with having to let other personnel take time off to deal with the after effects of the typhoon.
“I was concerned about how the stress would affect the staff who had to go on straight duties because of the flooding, but thankfully they coped very well,” he added.
Citing his personal experience, Marwynne said that he had to go on a two week leave to handle the destruction brought about by the typhoon to his property.
“I personally took the leave to attend to the damage caused by the typhoon to my personal property. It was a complete wreck so I had to start from scratch,” he said.
Also’, some of the staff had to stay over because they preferred not to brave the floods surrounding the areas around their homes.
With the damage brought about by the typhoons, Marwynne was proud to point out that the staff was able to avail of the assistance offered by the government through its housing agency PAG-IBIG and the Social Security Service (SSS).
“Their contributions to these agencies have always been updated so we just assisted them by giving out assistance application forms and the like. The staff that needed such assistance was able to avail of it,” he noted.
As a thanksgiving for being spared the wrath of a very destructive – force of Nature, MPF management decided to make environmental the theme of its partnership night with the pharmaceutical companies held last November.
During the said event, partner pharmaceutical companies of MPF-RBR pledge financial support for the programs the facility organizes to enhance and complement the treatment plan for trainees and patients. Some of these activities include the summer sports fest, the quarterly lay forum and the bi-annual newsletter of the facility.
Called “Global Warning: A Commitment to Partnership,” the said event highlighted the need to be aware and active in helping rehabilitate and hopefully preserve the environment, given the destruction that progress in the past centuries entailed.
In her speech during the event, MPF-RBR executive director Dr. Benita Sta. Ana-Ponio said, “events in the past year reminded us that despite our success in our undertakings, everything would be meaningless if all we had worked for will be gone in the blink of an eye because of our neglect of the environment.”
Further. Dr. Ponio noted, “we share one wish with the whole world: that is. to protect the gift we have been given and enjoy the benefits attached to Life and being alive.”
‘Formerly, we decided on a Pirates of the Caribbean theme, but given the situation around us, we thought it would be improper to have a very lavish celebration when some of our countrymen were still suffering from the after effects of the floods and the typhoons,” Marwynne stressed.
The highlight of the event was the photography, painting and poetry competition, which was open to everyone in the hospital, be they patients or staff; Grand prize winners got to go home with Php 5.000 each.
Marwynne recalled that the facility has held competitions in the past. but they focused on the other skills of the personnel and patients. such as in arts and crafts. He added that usually, the partnership night was a venue to show the performing capabilities of the trainees and patients.
‘Yv'ith the current contest, we also wanted to show that we have a holistic approach to treatment in the hospital. It shows that therapy doesn’t just take place in the consultation room. We tapped the regular art classes held here for the patients to enable the contest,” he stressed. “As for the staff, we wanted to show that we are proud of their work.”
The paintings, photographs and poetry that were created for the contest were also used in the 2010 planner commissioned by the hospital as a holiday giveaway to doctors and other partners.
Meanwhile, while the recent experience with typhoons brought to light the need to be more environmentally aware, Marwynne said that lessons from the said experience have translated to a more acute observance of the MPF’s green initiatives, such as recycling non-biodegradab materials and waste water from the water treatment facility.
“However, we will still be on the lookout for other possible measures we can adapt. he added.
