The country’s major business groups led by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) yesterday launched “Gawad Bayaning Kalusugan” to recognize the sacrifice and dedication of the medical and health practitioners to their mission during this COVID-19 pandemic.
Businessman Dr. Carl Balita, president of Health Educationists, Advocates and Leaders (Heal) Philippines, the main proponent of the advocacy, has asked the PCCI, being the voice of business, and the Association of Allied Health Organizations of the Nation (AAHON) to be project presenters.
PCCI President Ambassador Benedicto Yujuico called this another “great advocacy” which gained the support of various business organizations.
The National Award and Tribute to the Frontliners in the health care and case management of patients with COVID-19 in the Philippine Hospitals celebrates the individual and team stories of heroism and the hallmark service excellence offered by the individual frontliners during the times of the pandemic. It acclaims the professional excellence and the interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary teamwork in the fight against CoViD-19.
There are two categories of the awards, namely the individual awards and the team awards. It will be across the country clustered in Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and the National Capital Region, across the Covid19-admitting Levels 1, 2 and 3 hospital categories.
The awarding is slated on November 26 this year in celebration of the Thanksgiving Day, but the PCCI will bestow posthumous awards to the fallen health and medical frontliners during the annual Philippine Business Conference in October this year.
Balita explained that the “Gawad Bayaning Kalusugan,” bestows individuals, groups or teams awards for their exemplar stories during the pandemic. More than the national recognition, Balita explained the award will create evidence for research and publication in the fight against COVID-19.
“This is not a competition but we are looking for evidences on how the Philippines has created the best practices and responses to address COVID-19,” said Balita.
Specifically, this project aims to give recognition to the outstanding performance of individual frontliners and teams in the health care and case management of CoViD19 patients in Philippine Hospitals.
But it will also document exemplary individual stories of heroism and outstanding team dynamics leading to service excellence in healthcare management in the Philippine context of CoViD19 pandemic, Balita stressed.
It will also create exemplars in the individual, interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary healthcare practice, and make available the evidences of Healthcare management of CoViD19 for use documentation in literature, education, research and publication.
“Documentation is necessary for medical literature, research and publication, it comes in very handy because candidates will learn from this process,” said Balita.
Bing Limjoco, PCCI chairman, cited the “unsung heroes” during this crisis and who put their lives in the line for others. For that, Limjoco said, they should be recognized.
Cash prizes worth P1.2 million shall be distributed at fifty thousand pesos (P 50,000) cash prize per winner in the individual and team categories.
The award will also engage business organizations and enterprises in giving recognition and reward to frontliners.
The award is supported by Philippine Export (Philexport) Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), Philippine Silk Road International Chamber of Commerce (PSRICC) International Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ICC), Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCCII), Philippine Franchise Association (PFA), Philippine Retailers Association (PRA), Philippine Association of Legitimate Service Contractors (PALSCON) and PCCI-Quezon City. It is also in partnership with the Philippine Women’s Commission (PWC) Philippine Hospitals Association (PHA), Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines (PHAPI), Philippine Medical Association (PMA), Philippine Nurses Association (PNA), Philippine League of Government and Private Midwives Inc (PLGPMI), Association of Nursing Service Administrators of the Phils (ANSAP), Philippine College of Hospital Administrators (PCHA), Integrated Philippine Association of Optometrists (IPAO), and Midwives Foundation Inc (MFI).