More than 800 patients benefited from a medical mission held by the SM Foundation Inc. (SMFI) in the Bicol region this month.
The medical mission was conducted at the SM City Daet and SM City Naga.
Among the beneficiaries of the medical mission at the SM City Daet in Camarines Norte was Daet resident and Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiary Melanie Gregorio who has been suffering from stomach pains that sometimes lead to difficulty in breathing.
She availed of a free medical check-up and was given medicines in the medical mission which offered free diagnostic services such as X-ray, ECG, blood sugar, cholesterol, and uric and hemoglobin tests.
About 500 patients received the same free medical services at SM City Naga by the SMFI mobile clinic and its social good team.
Tessie Talagtag, 53, and 69-year-old Adelaida Medado were among those benefited.
Talagtag was diagnosed with ulcers and is suffering from hearing loss while Medado has been experiencing cough for a month.
The two women were attended to by SMFI Senior Project Manager, Dr. Bless Bertos, and a team of doctors led by Dr. Joframel Paz, president of the Philippine Academy of Family Physicians-Camarines Sur chapter.
The SMFI said the spirit of camaraderie was on full display in the medical mission as volunteer medical and health professionals from the private and public sectors actively lent a hand in the vital signs, diagnosis dispensing, and other areas.
Volunteer medical professionals from the Daet Municipal Health Office and Rural Health Unit 3 were extended support to the medical mission. These volunteers are also part of the Resbakuna program of the LGU.
Aside from the Daet Municipal Health Office, other partners were Camarines Norte Provincial Hospital, DSWD V-4Ps, Philippine Red Cross-Camarines Norte Chapter, and Army 9th Infantry Division.
The Naga City Health Office, 9th ID, Ideal Vision, SM Naga Branch, and DSWD V-DSWD V-4Ps were also key partners of the initiative.
Aside from the medical missions and engagement of community partners, the SMFI, together with Uniqlo Philippines, had just upgraded three community health centers in Barangay Angas, Basud, Camarines Norte; Barangay Cararayan, Naga City, Camarines Sur; and Barangay San Isidro, Baao, Camarines Sur.