Citing the positive gains of its food assistance program, the Pampanga provincial government assured the local schools and barangay officials that it shall continue and further enhance its school-based supplemental feeding and nutrition advocacy programs in the province.

Pampanga Governor Eddie T. Panlilio made this assurance during the assessment meeting recently held with school administrators, teachers, barangay leaders and officers of the Parents-Teachers Associations (PTAs) at the Benigno Aquino Memorial Hall at the Capitol compound.

Close to 200 participants from 96 public elementary schools in the province, all beneficiaries of the provincial government’s food assistance program in the past years, attended the said assessment.

Panlilio said that the province has spent P26.5 million for its supplemental feeding program with 17,267 undernourished school children.

“This program was made possible through “pamisaupan”, a synergy of efforts of the various sectors – from the schools which administer the program, to the communities which help in the food preparation, to the local government units which provide transportation and cost of fuel support,” Panlilio said.

He stressed that funds used for the said program came from the public’s taxes and the provincial government was merely giving back what is due them.

The Governor also reported that for this year, the province has allocated P10 million for its supplemental feeding program.

According to Rustica Butiu, provincial nutrition action officer, the program’s direct implementers were one in saying that the program proved to be beneficial to the target undernourished children.

“Aside from gaining additional weight, the children became more active, alert and participative in class activities,” Butiu said.

There was also less incidence of absenteeism, even  lesser instances of drop outs, she added.

The assessment’s participants also noted that the food assistance program also forged strong bond and cooperation between and among the schools, the communities and the LGUs.

Under the program, the school beneficiaries are provided with daily supplies of rice, meat and other necessary ingredients by the provincial government for their feeding which runs up to 45 days.

The children, all weighing below normal, are served with nutritious meals and snacks prepared by the local PTA which include asadong bola-bola, tinolang manok, meatballs with patola and misua soup, sinigang na baboy, pork chop and ginisang munggo.

Aside from these regular lunch viands, the children are also served with snacks which include “ginataan, chicken sopas, champorado” and other nutritious local sweets.

Butiu said the menu was prescribed by the provincial government’s nutrition workers to ensure the nutritive quality of food being served to school pupils.

With the children benefited by the feeding program, their parents also received briefings and orientations on proper nutrition including tips on how-to prepare home-based delicacies and other possible income generating projects.

One of the assessment’s participants from barangay San Esteban in Macabebe town said that their efforts and sacrifices in getting their daily food supplies from the Capitol to their area have paid off as the program reaped positive gains for their school children.

As with all other programs, Butiu agreed with the participants that the supplemental feeding also faced hindering factors even as she assured them that the provincial government is committed to further strengthen and improve its implementation.

The presence of hospitals in any province is essential to addressing the health needs of the population in the area.

This is recognized by any local official who is true to his commitment to provide the basic services of his constituents. And the provincial government of Pampanga, led by Governor Eddie T. Panlilio, is very well aware of this.

The administrative personnel of the Romana Pangan District Hospital (RPDH) recently gave the public a closer look at the hospital which typifies many of other district hospitals in the province and outside of it.

The RPDH, according to Josefina Lopena, its administrative officer, the hospital was started in 1967 as a 25-bed hospital located in Barangay Gutad, eight kilometers away from the town proper of Floridablanca.

“Due to its location some eight kilometers away from the town proper and its terrain, it was not accessible enough to most residents that it should have served.”

Through the efforts of its former chief of hospital, Dr. Pablo Sazon, the family of Dr. Joaquin Gozun finally donated a 10,000 square meter land located some two to three kilometers from the town proper.

“Thus, its present location has proved to be more accessible and has served most of the constituents that it sought to serve, including those from nearby areas like Porac, Lubao, Guagua and even Dinalupihan in Bataan .”

Lopena also traced the development of the RPDH from being a 25-bed hospital to the construction of the edifice with its present 50-bed capacity.

“Every year, bed occupancy increases, thus, exceeding its authorized bed capacity,” Lopena added.

She also pointed out that the hospital has the problem of operating on the budget of a 50-bed capacity while having to treat an excessive number of patients.

According to Lopena, during rainy days, patients from nearby hospitals are transferred to RPDH because it is safer from flooding than other areas.

She stated the RPDH’s objectives for the year 2010 which are to provide additional beds for the projected increase of patients and to provide efficient, effective and quality medical service to the community.

Lopena also declared its activity targets to attain the aforementioned objectives and they are the following: improvement of services and facilities through manpower training; increase in bed capacity from 50 to 75 to meet the increasing number of patients; and expansion through renovations.

According to the provincial leadership, they are very well aware of the needs of the RPDH and other district hospitals.

“We continue to seek out additional resources to give to those who are most in need. And these are our needy constituents requiring medical attention. We shall be providing them with all the resources they need as soon as these are within our capacity to do so.”

Lopena expressed the desire that this would materialize soon as she commented on the qualifications of the medical staff, “all able to deliver quality patient care service”.

She said that apart from the chief of hospital and other medical officers who could handle efficiently such surgery cases as cholecystectomy, appendectomy, hysterectomy, hemorrhoidectomy, there are visiting physicians and consultants on cardiology, pediatrics, OB Gyne and orthopedics.

She again expressed that upgrading of resources and bed capacity for the RPDH be done soon as she reiterated the hospital’s commitment to provide quality health care to the community.