By Tony Chavez
Following the guidance of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., Health Secretary Teodoro J. Herbosa has deployed additional Department of Health (DOH) medical teams to augment the health emergency response teams (HERTs) that have been attending to people in need of healthcare in the Bicol region following Severe Tropical Storm Kristine.
An additional 39 doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals are arriving via airlift (C130) at the Naga City General Hospital (NCGH), while 52 more will join fellow health workers at the Bicol Region General Hospital and Geriatric Medical Center (BRGHGC) via land travel to Cabusao, Camarines Sur. DOH ambulances with standard equipment, medicines, and supplies will join the convoy of passenger buses provided by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
These augmentation staff include members of the WHO-recognized Philippine Emergency Medical Assistance Teams (PEMAT) from the Jose B. Lingad Memorial General Hospital in Pampanga, the Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and Sanitarium in Manila, and the Eastern Visayas Medical Center in Tacloban City. Health staff will also be from the Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center, San Lorenzo Ruiz General Hospital, Tondo Medical Center, and Valenzuela Medical Center.
"Disaster response systems for health are working and in place. DOH joins the conveyor belt of aid directed by President Marcos Jr. to Bicol and elsewhere it is needed. We are serious when we say, 'bawat buhay mahalaga' - wala talagang maiiwan," said Sec. Herbosa, who himself is an international expert in trauma surgery and disaster medicine.
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