“Leaders” in the Health Sector Member Agencies Answer Call for Unity In Responding to Emergencies and Disaster.

Representatives of the 14 Signatory Agencies and Organizations
together with the Department of Health Officials

A multi-sectoral Memorandum of Agreement signing was held at the Heritage Hotel at noontime of July 20, 2011 where each signatory pledged their respective support and cooperation in responding in unity to  emergencies and disasters. They affirmed that their commitment to coordinate will not be driven by necessity but more of an obligation to society. It was well attended by about 300 representatives of various agencies and sub-agencies under them.

Signatories to the MOA were heads of the different agencies and organizations:  the DOH, Phil. Hosp Assn,  DILG, DND, DSWD, DOJ, DOTC, DepED, UP Manila, PRC, Phil Medical Assn, PNA, PLGPMI and PSSEI.

USEC Teodoro Herbosa of the DOH congratulated everyone on their efforts and resolve to be solid in their support for this initiative in disaster containment in order to save lives.  He also said that this is very timely especially that the month of July is declared DISASTER CONCIOUSNESS MONTH by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council with its theme of “MAKIALAM, MAKIISA SA PAGSUGPO NG PANGANIB MAY MAITUTULONG KA”.

The intentions and objectives of this initiative are good but only if proper mechanisms are put into place and followed through. On the part of the Philippine Hospital Association,  President Ruben C. Flores said that it shall coordinate closely with the Department of Health and set forth on a campaign of information dissemination with its over 1,800 hospital members to lay down the expectations from all of them in the events of emergencies and disasters.  The PHA will utilize its networking capabilities and membership with the International Hospital Federation and the Asian Hospital Federation in gaining additional valuable knowledge on their own effective practices in preparing and responding to emergencies and disasters.  It is expected that IHF and AHF members with first hand experiences in major disasters in their respective countries will be able to give valuable contributions in this regard.



The Two Presidents:
Left:  Dr. Ruben Flores-Philippine Hospital Association
Dr. Oscar Tinio-Philippine Medical Association



The Philippine Hospital Association’s Experience With Two Infinity Signs That Have Metamorphosed Into a Butterfly

It was July 17, 2011,  Sunday and a fine day it was, when the Philippine Hospital Association (PHA President Ruben C. Flores, PHA Treasurer Edgardo Salud and PHA E.O. Mac Caliwara), landed at the Cauayan Airport in Isabela at a few minutes before 10am, some 25 minutes ahead of schedule.  Private security guards were on hand to guide the passengers through the designated path that will keep them at a safe distance from the propellers of the plane.  In Manila, much attention was given to the weight load that goes unto the plane, where all hand carried luggages were weighed and added up.  Ladies who were secretive of their weights, had no choice but to comply with the body weighing requirements of the airline. The measures, as explained by the groud staff, were resorted to for “purposes of having a correct balance” in the plane.  Even the manner of alighting from the plane after landing were also done by rows , again, purportedly to maintain proper balance, even when the plane had already been secured and parked. At the Cauayan airport 3 army personnel in fatigue uniforms and their Armalite rifles were stationed at the arrival area with the intention of being seen by everybody as if to say, “you’re in safe hands” even if it did conjure an image of terrorists's attack. Too much movies! A mother posing for photo at the tarmac with child in tow was hurriedly asked by the airport security to clear the area and to move on towards the arrival area. Not tourist friendly, one would think.

The travel by land from Cauayan airport to Santiago took about 30 minutes. The group made a short stop to a supposedly tourist destination (google it) Balingtokatok, Chapel of the Transfiguration and Last Supper but that's another story. The place needs more TLC.

Back to tne hospital story.

What could have prodded the group to go away from the comforts of their homes on a Sunday knowing they need to be back to their respective offices by the first hour of the following day, one may ask? The answers are two folds:  call of duty and  reciprocation.

Call of duty, since as leaders of the organization of hospitals, they are guided by its mission to L.E.A.P., i.e. Lead, Enable, Assist and Protect hospitals towards quality service. The Flores Memorial Medical Center, founded in 1950, celebrates its 60^th year and have extended its invitation to all its friends to attend the inauguration of its new wing. PHA , in its roster of members, have 42 member hospitals in the province of Isabela with 12 belonging to the government and 30 private hospitals. In Santiago City, there are 7 hospital members with 1 from the government and 6 private.

Reciprocation, since there was a time when “Papa Doc” as Dr. Adolfo Flores⁺ (1916-2007) was fondly called, never missed any of the events of the organization.  He was a regular fixture in the PHA scene. 

He was sometimes accompanied by his wife, Dr. Natividad “Mama Doc” Sevilla Flores⁺ (1918-2004).

One of the 11 children of Papa and Mama Doc , Dr. Arturo S. Flores , plays a major role in the operation of the hospital. He is ably assisted by his CPA sister, Sita Coseng, who acts as Administrator. The warmth of their reception for the group added to the excitement of us lowlanders who were profusely perspiring by us lowlprofuse being not accustomed to the high temperature in the region.  We were awed at improvements and facilities of the new wing and on the narrations of Dr. Art about the master plan for the one block property where the hospital is situated. He still have a half block to work on, which he said he is hoping to become a reality in his lifetime.  The hospital's corridors at 2.4meters were wide enough to accommodate two stretchers going in the opposite directions.  An automatic sprinkler system was very evident.  All rooms were equipped with ultra slim LED TVs that were hooked on the wall facing the patient's brand new multi-adjustable hospital beds.  there is  hot water available supplied by a water tank at the roof top  hooked up to solar panels.  CCCTV system pointing to strategic locations of the hospital , including offices , are also in place and can be monitored remotely by management via internet. The database can also be accessed remotely which gives management up to date information about the hospital transactions.

From it's humble beginning as the Flores Clinic in 1950, with tender loving care (TLC) the institution has survived the test of time.

 "Like a butterfly that has undergone metamorphosis from a larvae" it now spreads its wings and is now called the FLORES MEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER. The hospital's logo, as patiently explained by Dr. Art, are actually two infinity signs brought together to form an image of a butterfly. It symbolizes change, rebirth and a new beginning.


The much awaited ribbon cutting, led by Dr. Art and Sis Sita, assisted by PHA President Dr. Ruben Flores, Congressman Gigi Aggabao and Mayor Amelita Navarro, commenced at 5pm.

Dr. Art Flores showing the way in cutting the ribbon

Dr. Flores huddles with Cong. Gigi Aggabao and Mayor Amelita Navarro

 It was followed by a program and sumptous dinner at the hospital's garden that has as center piece, a rainwater cistern with a beautiful roman fountain on top of it. 

The PHA group was happy to have touched based with Dr. Jun Costales, Chief Of Hospital of the Southern Isabela General (District) Hospital, Dra. Inesita Javonillo of the Javonillo Hospital in Cordon Isabela and Steve Callang of the Callang General Hospital.

The Bold Bunch - After a bowl of Soup Number 5 at
Dr. Jun Costales' Blends and Bites Cafe place where
Baby Back Ribs is the specialty of the house
From Left:  PHA E.O. Mac Caliwara, Dr. Costales Chief Of Hospital Southern Isabela General,
Edgardo Salud-PHA Treasurer, Dr. Ruben Flores-PHA President and
Dr. Art Flores, host

Blends and Bites Cafe

Dr. Inesita Javonillo
Javonillo Hospital, Cordon Isabela
and Dr. Ruben Flores PHA President

Steve Callang
Callang General Hospital

The group bid it's goodbye to evryone at around 8pm. Filled with hapy memories, they began their long evening trek back by land to Manila, all wearing a smile.  The group arrived safely as dawn was about to break.

Good job, congratulations and thank you, Flores Family!

As a postscript, Dr. Art has informed the PHA that it has been operating at 100% occupancy since its opening.

Dr. Art Flores

Philippine Hospital Association to Present an On-Line Webinar on Social Media on July 18, 2011

An On-Line WEBINAR.

Title:	Social Media 101: Engaging and Connecting Healthcare
Date:	Monday, July 18, 2011
Time:	6:00 PM - 7:00 PM CST

Social Media is sweeping society by leaps and bounds.  It is going the way of how the mobile phones gained worldwide popularity.  Mobile phone subscribers, “ by the end of  1990 were just 11 million world-wide; eight years later that figure had jumped to 320 million and is now forecast to exceed 550million by the end of next year. “ 

In the “20+ Mind-blowing social media statistics: One year later”  posting made in 25 March 2011 by Jake Hird , he gave us some statistics as his attempt to picture the speed by which wireless communications is taking place and social media along with it.  With the readers’ indulgence and with proper attribution to Mr. Jake Hird, herewith are quotes of his statistics:


Then: Twitter has 75m user accounts, but only around 15m are active users on a regular basis.


Now: Twitter now officially claims to have 175m registered users, although it's unclear what percentage regularly use the service. 


Then: LinkedIn has over 50m members worldwide. 


Now: Officially, Linkedin has grown 100%, now having over 100m professionals who use the platform worldwide. 


Then: Facebook has 350 million active users on global basis.


Now: Facebook officially hit the half-billion member mark last year. According to figures from Socialbakers, there are now some 640m Facebook users worldwide.


Then: 50% of active users log into Facebook each day. This means at least 175m users every 24 hours.


Now: Still citing the 50% active rate, using the official 500m figure, this means at least 250m users every 24 hours. This is more than a 40% increase in 12 months.


Then: Flickr hosts more than 4bn images.


Now: Flickr continues to grow at a steady rate, having increased by some 25% in the last twelve months. At the end of 2010, it was hosting more than 5bn images.


Then: Wikipedia has 14m articles and 85,000 contributors.


Now: Wikipedia now has more 17m articles. The site now has an army of 91,000 active contributors.


Then: 65m users access Facebook through mobile-based devices.


Now: It may well be the year of mobile... For Facebook. Users accessing the site through mobile devices now tops 200m - an enormous 200% increase in around a twelve-month period.


Then: There are more than 3.5bn pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, etc.) shared each week on Facebook.


Now: Clearly, Facebook is still growing: More than 30bn pieces of content is shared each month, which is an average of 7bn pieces a week.


Then: There are 11m LinkedIn users across Europe.


Now: Go Europe! There are now 20m+ EU Linkedin members.


Then: The average number of tweets per day was over 27m.


Now: Twitter now states that 95m tweets are written each day. This is a staggering 250% increase.


Then: The average number of tweets per hour was around 1.3m.


Now: At the new rate of growth, its calculated that there are nearly 4m tweets per hour.

In a way, it is creating a great divide between the learned and unlearned in the said cyber arena. The baby boomers (estimated to be 78 million) , born between 1946 to 1964 , though aging and most of them retired and about to retire,  possess great spending capacity and therefore remain good target for the marketing of product and services.  I ventured making a guess that over half of them are not yet into social media, not due to their choice, but simply due to lack of opportunity to be exposed to the basic ways of getting unto it.  Internet monitoring site comScore  however states :  “ Social networking stats: 16.5 million adults ages 55 and older engage”.

The same may very well be true in the case of the non baby boomers.  There are those who are within our midst who definitely have heard about Facebook (600 million users and USD2B in estimated revenues, Twitter (“the wine sucks”,  “sorry, walang pogi rito #Vietnam” and “eh di magreklamo ka sa lolo mong panot”) , blogs (food, travel, opinions, etc).  While they have entertained in their minds on hopping unto it they never got around to doing it.

The thing is that people need to adapt and adapt well to the changes and developments happening around us, for reason that are good for one’s self , the family and the community.

It is for this reason that as part of the Philippine Hospital Association’s advocacy, it has thought of sponsoring a   free on-line WEBINAR on SOCIAL MEDIA. Primary target will be its members and stakeholders but anybody interested is welcome to it, subject to the limit of 100 participants.  The PHA will be using the trial version of the “gotomeeting” software which has set the limit.  However, possibilities for follow through sessions are not to be discounted. The WEBINAR  will be made possible with the cooperation of the Digital Filipino.com and its founder and prime mover, the ever energetic power house of woman, Ms. Janette Toral.  She is a renowned master in the field of e-Commerce whose reputation precedes her. The Phil. Hospital Assn. (PHA) advocates L.E.A.P.! It means it Leads, Enables, Assists & Protects Hospitals. These advocacies for its hospital members are driven by the organization's ultimate desire for the Filipino people to obtain the best in quality health services.  Bringing the vehicle of Social Media within the reach & capabilities of the health institutions shall be a big boost in CONNECTING & ENGAGING all concerned.  Together through Social Media, i.e. the hospitals, the public, allied organizations and other stakeholders, and UNITED, they will WIELD a BIG VOICE, the better to be heard and influence policy & law makers to address the sentiments & needs of the people.  The mechanics for joining is very simple: 1.       PHA will send an email / FB / text messages blast invitation to all its members who are wirelessly “connected”. Members and their staff who are interested can register through the WEBINAR software. Registration will be confirmed and more details on checking in with the Webinar on the appointed date will be sent back promptly by PHA. 2.      Interested non-PHA member friends , are now welcome to register subject to availability of slots , first come first served. They will be sent emailed invitations and once they have registered, they will be confirmed and emailed back details on checking in with the Webinar on the appointed date.

For any further inquiries, you may reach PHA by email at executive.officer@pha.ph. or tweet us at @PHA1949.

Happy Webinar, everyone!


Thank you.