In just a little over a decade, BDO Foundation has successfully rehabilitated 140 rural health units (RHUs) all over the Philippines as part of efforts to help improve the health and well-being of Filipinos in underserved communities.
In the past few months alone, the corporate social responsibility arm of BDO Unibank rehabilitated four health facilities in Bohol: Sikatuna Rural Health Unit, Talibon Municipal Health Center, Sagbayan Municipal Health Unit and Jagna Rural Health Unit I. In Surigao del Norte, the foundation renovated Lipata Barangay Health Center, Rural Health Unit – Del Carmen and Santa Monica Rural Health Unit. It also refurbished Pinili – Mothering Center in Ilocos Norte and Batad Primary Care Facility in Iloilo.
BDO Foundation’s initiative in the aforementioned provinces benefits more than 198,000 people.
With each renovated RHU, the foundation contributes to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal no. 3 to ensure healthy lives and promote the well-being of all people at all ages. Through its ongoing rehabilitation program, which started in 2012, the foundation helps improve the healthcare delivery system in the country, one of the goals under the Philippine health agenda.
BDO Foundation improves the RHUs, particularly their layout, interiors and exteriors, lobbies and waiting areas, offices, birthing clinics, consultation and treatment rooms, pharmacies, furniture and fixtures. Using available space, it also constructs breastfeeding stations, play areas for children and waiting lounges for senior citizens.
With these improvements in place, rehabilitated health centers stand to receive high assessment scores from the Department of Health and accreditation from PhilHealth. Upgraded health facilities benefit mothers and babies, children, persons with disabilities, senior citizens and other patients, most of whom cannot afford to go to hospitals. Rehabilitated RHUs also benefit indigenous peoples in remote communities and Filipinos in disaster-affected areas.
“Typhoon Ursula and Typhoon Agaton damaged our facility and affected our ability to serve our constituents,” Batad municipal health officer Dr. Maria Rhesyl De La Rosa remembered. “By renovating our RHU, you enabled us to continue providing free health and nutrition services to our community particularly the patients who are most in need.”
According to Sikatuna municipal health officer Dr. Paz Maniwang, the rehabilitation of their health center “will enable the local government to allocate a budget for the procurement of more medicines and medical supplies.”
For Jagna municipal health officer Dr. Shaira Lyn Cagulada, one of the most significant benefits of the project is the ability to accommodate and screen more patients. With the improved layout and interiors of their RHU, Dr. Cagulada plans to “shift from the traditional writing of patients’ records to electronic medical records.”
The rehabilitation of health centers—critical as the country continues to recover from the pandemic—is made possible with the support of BDO and BDO Network Bank officers, who recommend health centers that need assistance.
About BDO Foundation
BDO Foundation is the corporate social responsibility arm of BDO Unibank. Founded in 2008, the foundation aims to contribute to nation-building by addressing the needs of underserved sectors of society through its disaster response and financial inclusion advocacies. Supported by the BDO Unibank community and in partnership with local government units and non-governmental organizations, BDO Foundation mounts relief operations, rehabilitates rural health units, constructs school buildings, implements financial education programs and undertakes COVID-19 response programs across the country. Its corporate citizenship initiatives have been recognized at the Retail Banking Awards of Asian Banking & Finance magazine and Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards of Enterprise Asia. For more information, visit www.bdo.com.ph/foundation/home, e-mail bdo.foundation@bdo.com.ph or call 8840-7000 local 36046.
Article submitted by Lawrence Kasman, BDO Foundation, Inc.
