The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
The people of Valencia municipality in Negros Oriental province recently celebrated the opening of their newly rehabilitated health center, the Oscar M. Lopez Birthing Home and Rural Health Unit of Valencia. About 60,000 individuals from 24 villages are expected to benefit from the improved maternal healthcare, child-care, and outpatient services of the renovated structure, officials said.
It is the sixth rural health unit rehabilitated so far this year by the BDO Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of Banco de Oro Unibank (BDO), in line with its disaster-response advocacy and rehabilitation program.
The foundation pursued the project as part of its continuing efforts to help improve the country’s healthcare delivery system, particularly in places marginalized by calamities. The Oscar M. Lopez Birthing Home and Rural Health Unit of Valencia, which serves patients 24/7, was affected by floods in 2013.
The rural health unit was blessed during an inaugural ceremony, which was attended by local officials, led by Valencia Mayor Edgar Teves, Vice Mayor Romeo Alviola, and Municipal Health Officer Dr. Cheryl Luz Eullaran, who commended the significant improvements in their facilities.
The overall structure of the Oscar M. Lopez Birthing Home and Rural Health Unit of Valencia was improved, and so were its furniture and fixtures, offices, clinics, treatment rooms, birthing clinic, and breastfeeding station. A space for the elderly with a flatscreen television set and a children’s play area with books and toys were also installed.
The ceremony was also attended by BDO Foundation President Mario Deriquito and Program Director Rose Espinosa. Also in attendance were BDO Robinson’s-Dumaguete branch head Agustin Pastor Jr., BDO Dumaguete-Silliman Campus branch head Cleomen Fontelo, BDO Dumaguete-CityMall branch head Jimarie Kay Onofre, and BDO Dumaguete-Colon branch operations officer Rosemarie Calingacion.
BDO branch managers support the foundation’s rehabilitation program by recommending potential beneficiaries and coordinating with local officials.
Through the rehabilitation program, the BDO Foundation contributes to the achievement of the United Nations’ (UN) Millennium Development Goal on the improvement of maternal healthcare, the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal on promoting healthy lives, and the Philippine Health Agenda’s target to enhance the country’s healthcare delivery system.