Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sen. Richard Gordon personally handed out 470 IV fluid bottles to diarrhea patients in medical tents just outside Siargao District Hospital, the organization said on Tuesday, Jan. 11.
PRC said in a statement that this is part of Gordon's continuous move to reach out to more areas devastated by Typhoon Odette. He visited 17 patients admitted at the three medical tents deployed by PRC to support Siargao District Hospital due to the rising diarrhea cases in the Island.
As part of PRC's response to Siargao island, the humanitarian organization also deployed its water tankers to provide clean and potable water to the residents. PRC also conducted hygiene promotion to prevent waterborne diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, and typhoid.
Last week, PRC said that Gordon together with a PRC team from the national headquarters visited Siargao Island and other hard-hit areas namely Cebu, and Surigao del Norte to personally oversee and assess the situation to be able to bring much needed additional aid from the PRC and its partners.
As the lifeline of the people, Gordon said that they will always be ready in every situation where help is needed.
"No matter the circumstance, we will continue to strengthen our response to help the people, especially the most vulnerable," Gordon said.
Currently catering to 27 patients, three PRC medical tents serve as extension wards, providing an additional 30 bed capacity to the Siargao District Hospital, PRC said. The emergency deployment of medical tents comes with 30 cot beds, basic ward equipment, volunteer nurses and doctors to address the needs of the patients.
As operations commenced at the beginning of the year, one tent has been catering to 14 pediatric patients while the other two tents cater to adults and patients needing isolation.