11 October 2005
EDITORIAL: Long live the doers of good!
TODAY’S inauguration of the Dialysis Center at the Region 1 Medical Center brings a message of hope for renal disease sufferers in Pangaasinan and throughout the Ilocos region.
It is a credit to all those who made this health care facility possible, among them no less than our top politicians themselves and philantrophists refusing to be identified, that money, effort and time has been put to good use for the benefit of humanity. In today’s Philippine setting where political wranglings, economic malfeasance and misplaced social priorities seem to be the order of the day, such an event as the extension of vital services for the poor and the needy tugs at the heart of even the most jaded observer.
For kidney ailment or renal impairments practically drain a victim’s or his family’s financial resources, given the prohibitive cost of transplants, or even just the regular cleansing of the victim’s blood thru dialysis, to prolong the life of a sufferer. As the street lingo goes, it is a crime to get sick today – bawal magkasakit. The upward cost of medicines and medical services today makes death a sweet surcease for the destitute who ever contracts a serious ailment like kidney disorder. Tragic, but true.
Into this dreadful picture comes the news of the Dialysis Center being installed in a public hospital here, a first ever event in Pangasinan history. The marginalized sector will certainly find the announced rate of P2,500 per treatment with the dialysis machine at Region 1 Medical Center a most welcome news. Where a similar treatment in private hospitals would easily cost from P10,000 to P12,000 per session, the affordable price in the public dialysis center should bring a great sense of relief, figuratively and literally, for kidney disease victims in these parts. It means they can stretch their budget or resources that much further than they would if availing of the same dialysis in private health institutions.
Enlightened and resourceful hospital management are what the country’s public health sector needs today. Combined with an equally compassionate and capable political leadership, such may be considered one of the greatest gifts ever to a generally disillusioned population – and a credit to the One Above’s blessed creations on earth.
It is a credit to all those who made this health care facility possible, among them no less than our top politicians themselves and philantrophists refusing to be identified, that money, effort and time has been put to good use for the benefit of humanity. In today’s Philippine setting where political wranglings, economic malfeasance and misplaced social priorities seem to be the order of the day, such an event as the extension of vital services for the poor and the needy tugs at the heart of even the most jaded observer.
For kidney ailment or renal impairments practically drain a victim’s or his family’s financial resources, given the prohibitive cost of transplants, or even just the regular cleansing of the victim’s blood thru dialysis, to prolong the life of a sufferer. As the street lingo goes, it is a crime to get sick today – bawal magkasakit. The upward cost of medicines and medical services today makes death a sweet surcease for the destitute who ever contracts a serious ailment like kidney disorder. Tragic, but true.
Into this dreadful picture comes the news of the Dialysis Center being installed in a public hospital here, a first ever event in Pangasinan history. The marginalized sector will certainly find the announced rate of P2,500 per treatment with the dialysis machine at Region 1 Medical Center a most welcome news. Where a similar treatment in private hospitals would easily cost from P10,000 to P12,000 per session, the affordable price in the public dialysis center should bring a great sense of relief, figuratively and literally, for kidney disease victims in these parts. It means they can stretch their budget or resources that much further than they would if availing of the same dialysis in private health institutions.
Enlightened and resourceful hospital management are what the country’s public health sector needs today. Combined with an equally compassionate and capable political leadership, such may be considered one of the greatest gifts ever to a generally disillusioned population – and a credit to the One Above’s blessed creations on earth.
