Medical and dental mission for families affected by Typhoon Yolanda and Typhoon Ruby in Polambato, Bogo City, Cebu

The Visayas Primary Health Care Services, Inc. conducted a medical and dental mission in Barangay Polambato, Bogo City on December 14, 2014. Located in the northern part of Cebu about three hours ride from Cebu City, it was one of the barangays severely affected by Typhoon Yolanda and recently, by Typhoon Ruby on December 6, 2014. The mission was conducted in the Polambato Elementary School.

In Polambato Elementary School.

The Visays Primary Health Care Services, Inc. coordinated with the Polambato Farmers’ Association which was organized by the Central Visayas Farmers’ Development Center (FARDEC), another non-government organization, in the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda as part of its relief and rehabilitation support services for families affected by the disaster. The local government unit and administration of the elementary school helped also to prepare for the mission. 

Members of the mission team included the following, namely: 12 doctors, 7 nurses, seven dentists, and one psychologist. The VPHCS had nine staff members which included one doctor and three nurses. The FARDEC had two staff members. The entire medical mission team consisted of 38 people. 

Services in the medical mission included the following, namely: medical consultations for illnesses for children and adults, diabetes screening for adults more than 40 years old, dental services of tooth extraction, urinalysis, and giving of reading glasses. 

For many of the patients, it was the first time that they had medical care since Typhoon Yolanda hit the Philippines in November 8, 2013. Having to work very hard to look for food after the damage to their crops, suffering from the lack of shelter after the destruction of their houses and trying to find all possible resources to feed their families, many patients had neglected their health. For many of them, going to the health center to seek medical care for their illnesses or to buy medicines for their illnesses was the least priority; the first priority was to find food. 

Registered adult patients had their blood pressure taken and the children were also weighed by the nursing team. Adults 40 years old and above had their blood sugar tested for diabetes after which they joined all other adult patients in the adult consultation room. All children were ushered to the two pediatric consultation rooms. 

Patients line up for registration.

 Registration of patients.

Consultation room for adults.

Consultation room for children.

Patients who had urinary complaints had urinalysis done. 

Urinalysis.

Adults and children who had dental problems were brought to the classroom for dental services. 

Dental services.

After their medical check-up, the patients then went to the pharmacy to get their prescribed medicines. 

Dispensing of medicines.

A total of 366 patients were given medical services, 50 of whom also had dental care, while 25 had only dental care. This brought the total number of patients to 391. A total of 147 persons were given reading glasses all of whom were also attended to by the doctors. 

A total of 100 patients had their blood sugar tested for diabetes, 5 of whom had elevated blood sugar levels. They were all given hypoglycemic medications good for three months and advised to have regular blood sugar check-up and diet control. 

Screening of diabetes.

Reading eyeglasses were provided to 147 patients. Having eyeglasses is a luxury in the rural areas in the Philippines. Even if Bogo City has optometry clinics, people could not afford their services. Those who availed of the glasses were truly happy that they could now read clearly or sew their clothes. 

Giving of reading glasses.

Hypertension was the second leading cause of illness after acute respiratory tract infections. Many of the patients said that they were not taking any anti-hypertensive medications because they did not feel any symptoms, could not afford to buy the medicines, or were not given medicines by the government health centers due to limited supply. The mission dispensed anti-hypertensive medications good for three months per patient after the doctors talked with the patients to have their blood pressure checked regularly by the barangay health workers and to take their medicines daily. 

The occurrence of acute respiratory tract infections, osteoarthritis, muscle pains, and non-ulcer dyspepsia among adults is seen in the context of the situation affecting the residents who are mostly poor farmers who have to work all day long in the fields, causing stress to them and tendency to take irregular meals, or decreasing their bodies’ immune response. 

Nine patients suspected of having pulmonary tuberculosis were referred to the city government’s health center in order to have sputum examination so that the patients can avail of free medicines if the examination is positive for the tuberculosis bacteria. There were also six cases each of pneumonia and anemia and five cases each of diabetes mellitus and bronchial asthma. 

There were 182 children less than 13 years old and 14 of them had normal findings. Majority (124 or 68%) had acute respiratory tract infection which is mostly viral in etiology. In the week prior to the mission, the weather was not good due to Typhoon Ruby resulting to lowered immune response of the children, making them susceptible to catch cough and colds. Ten of them came down with pneumonia and five had chronic bronchitis which are both lower respiratory tract infections. Five were anemic and three had skin infections while two had bronchial asthma and otitis media. One child had a lacerated wound on his foot after stepping on broken glass. A doctor in the mission sutured the wound so that the patient was not anymore referred to the city’s government hospital which would have cost money to his family. 

All patients were properly given medicines bought from the funds from Lands Aid. They included essential medicines such as antibiotics, analgesics, anti-pyretics, anti- hypertensives, antacids, ferrous sulfate, anti-diabetic, mucolytic, deworming agents, bronchodilator, multivitamins, skin antibiotics, and many others. 

In general, the mission was indeed successful and the patients expressed their appreciation and gratitude to the team. The team members were also very happy that they were able to serve the farmers and residents of the community who are continuing to strive hard to regain their normal lives after Typhoon Yolanda one year ago. 

The medical mission team after all was done.

CRM Trainings for VPHCS staff and community health workers in Bantayan conducted

As part of the ongoing project of the Visayas Primary Health Care Services, Inc. (VPHCS) to provide mental health services to families affected by Typhoon Yolanda in the northern part of Cebu, trainings on community resiliency model (CRM) were recently conducted for the VPHCS staff and community health workers in the affected areas in Bantayan. 

The project, Integrating Community Resiliency Model (CRM) in Community-based Health Program (CBHP) in ten villages in northern Cebu affected by Typhoon Yolanda is funded by the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC), a human rights organization based in Massachusettes, U.S.A. and working in more than a dozen countries worldwide. 

The six-month project which started in October 2014, addresses the mental health in the ten communities through application of the CRM so that the residents can help themselves and help others as well. 

Trainings on CRM for the VPHCS staff were conducted on October 17 – 19, Nov. 8 -9, 2014, in the Institute of Religion and Culture, Cebu City. Resource persons included three nurses trained on CRM and members of the Philippine Association of Community Resiliency Model Trainers (PhilACTs), Edgar Gahisan, Lord Sidney Relon and Irish Grace Ramirez, and UUSC consultant Rainera Lucero. 

Community Resilience Model (CRM) trained nurse 

Lord Sidney Relon facilitates a workshop 

on CRM with VPHCS staff.

VPHCS staff Juliet Abing presents her body map 

as part of developing the skill of resourcing.

A workshop during the CRM training. 

UUSC project consultant Rainera Lucero (standing) 

adds some inputs during a workshop.

CRM trained nurse Edgar Gahisan talks 

on the different skills in CRM.

The trainers then gave community-based trainings on CRM to community health workers of the ten barangays. The first trainings were held in Patao in Bantayan on Nov. 29 – Dec. 1, and Kampinganon in Bantayan, and San Agustin in Madridejos on Dec. 2 – 4.

Ten CHWs in each barangay attended the trainings which were conducted by Irish Grace Ramirez, Pearl Templado, Tardy Guardiario, and Lucila Carrreon of the VPHCS. 

Community health workers in Barangay Patao, Bantayan.

Community health workers in Barangays Kampinganon 

and San Agustin, Bantayan Dec. 2-4, 2014

Participants during a training on Community Resiliency Model 

in Bantayan on Nov. 29 - Dec. 1.

 VPHCS nurse Pearl Templado explains about CRM skills.

VPHCS nurse Tardy Guardiario talks about CRM skills.

“Community Resiliency Model (CRM) of the Trauma Resource Institute embodies a community-oriented approach that promotes independence, education about the biology of the human body and how it responds to traumatic events and most importantly, how to restore or enhance resiliency. It trains community members to not only help themselves but to help others within their wider social network. CRM aims to “make the skills a part of healing in daily life, to increase a sense of one’s ability to help him/herself, to learn how to bring the body, mind and spirit into greater balance and to encourage people to pass the skills along to friends and loved ones.”

“The primary focus of this skills-based, stabilization program is to re-set the natural balance of the nervous system. CRM skills help individuals understand their nervous system and learn to track sensations connected to their own well-being, which CRM calls the “Resilient Zone”. CRM’s goal is to help to create “trauma-informed” and “resiliency-informed” communities that share a common understanding of the impact of trauma and chronic stress on the nervous system and how resiliency can be restored or increased using this skills-based approach. 

“CRM has largely been used with individuals and communities, which have been marginalized either by economic challenges, ethnicity or specific events. Applying CRM proactively with an entire community or neighborhood that is chronically stressed can alleviate the symptoms of chronic stress placing the community and its members in a better position to change their situation by increasing their resiliency.” 

In the trainings of the community health workers, the participants said that Community Resiliency Model helped them in recovering themselves from the Yolanda experience, making them able to control themselves when they are out of their resilient zone.

Other communities in future trainings to be conducted include Barangay Lipayran, Municipality of Bantayan, Barangays Baterya, Malbago and Tominhao in the Municipality of Daanbantayan, Barangay North Poblacion, Municipality of San Francisco, Barangay Cagcagan, Municipality of Puro and Barangay Puertobello, Municipality of Tudela.