The Quezon City government has extended to the Dr. Fe del Mundo Medical Center Foundation Philippines, Inc. a P500,000 financial assistance which will be used for providing quality health care to QC’s poor residents.
A memorandum of agreement between Mayor Herbert Bautista and foundation board chairman Eliza Bengzon was signed as the QC government and Dr. Fe del Mundo medical Center Foundation Philippines, Inc. vowed to expand their joint program of extending medical assistance to the city’s poor.
Of the P500,000 financial assistance, P350,000 shall be utilized as discretionary fund of the Mayor for the treatment of eligible QC Hall employees, residents or patients referred by the office of the Mayor to the medical facility while the remaining P150,000 shall be utilized by the QC social services development department for the treatment of qualified QC residents.
As stipulated in the agreement, assessment and recommendation of qualified program beneficiaries shall be determined by the city’s social services development department headed by Teresa Mariano, also a signatory to the agreement.
“This is a good gift for the people of Quezon City. We have to be reminded that the healing process to poor patients begins from the attitudes of doctors, nurses and other public health practitioners. There should be the same caring attitude that must be given to patients who can afford to pay, as those who cannot,” the Mayor said.
However, there are certain diseases or cases not covered by the donation. These include OPD procedures and consultation, communicable diseases like tuberculosis, medico-legal cases, psychiatric cases, maternity cases except those that need extreme medical attention, diagnostic executive check-up with confinement, hematological cases with blood transfusion, cosmetology and plastic surgery, chemotherapy and cardiac surgeries and patients admitted as private cases.
Bengzon, in her speech, thanked Mayor Bautista for the donation, which she said, “will be used to continue our vision-mission of excellent service and compassionate caring for patients, families, and communities especially the marginalized sectors of society.”
Named after the country’s most distinguished pediatrician, the Dr. Fe del Mundo Medical Center Foundation is formerly known as the Children’s Memorial Hospital, which has been considered as the country’s first pediatric hospital.
Aside from the Dr. Fe del Mundo Medical Center Foundation, the QC government has also established partnerships with the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) and St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC) for the provision of medical assistance for the city’s underprivileged residents. Precy/ Ej/ Maureen Quiñones, PAISO
